To Be A Spy
by luverofall
Summary: Hr/D fic. romance, also plenty of action. 7th year at Hogwarts, Draco has to decide if hes a Death Eater or not, while in love w/Hermione... this will be a very long fic, i will try to update often, i have the plot. please r/r! i need encouragement!
1. Alone

To Be A Spy

Chapter 1

Hermione Granger was sitting in her room in the Leaky Cauldron deep in thought. It was three weeks before September first, and she had been dropped off at the pub to buy her Hogwarts things and to meet Ron and Harry. Unfortunately, Ron had just sent her a letter saying his family had caught some obscure disease while in Egypt, visiting Bill. Their entire family was quarantined, and the only people allowed in and out were specialists from St. Mungo's. Ron said he was feeling better, but no one could leave until they were all entirely better, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasely and Ginny were still in pretty bad shape. He predicted they probably wouldn't be able to get to Diagon Alley until August 30th or 31st. Hermione had sent them a reply saying she hoped they got better soon, and continued waiting for Harry.

But Harry didn't come. Figuring the Durselys had stopped him, Hermione sent him an owl asking him where he was. He hadn't replied yet. As she was thinking this, however, there was a sharp rap on the window. There was Hedwig. Hermione quickly opened the window and read Harry's letter:

Dear Hermione,

I'm sorry I didn't get there when I said I would, but the Durselys have dragged me to Majorca on Dumbledore's orders we aren't to be separated. He still believes I'm safe with them, even after the incident with Mrs. Figg.

Hermione thought, _Incident is right; she had to kill them to get you to safety._

I think I will be able to get there around the 30th, so have fun with Ron, and I'll try to get there as soon as possible.

Harry

"This is great," Hermione thought aloud. "Oh, well, I'll just finish my homework, and have fun on my own."

She went down to the bar to order her lunch. It was a good thing her parents had given her lots of money, of she wasn't going to the Burrow. She looked at the menu, said, "pork chops, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin juice," and these things appeared before her. It was interesting what a few house elves could do to make a place run efficiently. She had talked to them when she had first gotten there, and they had convinced her of something no one else could. They liked working. So she had finally given up her S.P.E.W. campaign; in the past year she hadn't had much time for it anyway.

Hermione looked around her as she ate. There were always interesting people at the pub. Her gaze scanned the ever-present old woman with the pipe and her friends, a few older wizards on their coffee break, and finally settled on a boy in the corner, partially shadowed, who happened to be looking straight back at her. She quickly looked back down at her plate, not wanting to acknowledge his presence. Because he was anything but the boy she remembered. He had filled out; looked lean and well muscled, and had finely chiseled features. The gray yes boring into her own were Draco Malfoy's, of all people, and should be ignored. Hermione quickly finished her meal and paid at the counter. She could feel his eyes on her, or was she imagining it?

Why would he look at her? Hermione wondered as she looked in the floor-length mirror back in her room, scrutinizing her features. Maybe he was surprised at her different appearance. She had noticed over the summer that she had most definitely filled out. Her ears were newly pierced, as one of her Muggle friends had finally convinced her there was no reason not to, as the piercing and first pair of earrings were free. Her friend had also bought her an entirely new, and what she had deemed as "cool," wardrobe. Her hair had massively tamed down, at the moment falling in soft curls around her shoulders, instead of the big bushy frizz it used to be.

Yes, she had definitely changed, Hermione decided. Her seventeen-year-old self was much different than the eleven-year-old on that first train to Hogwarts. Yet did any of that matter? She was, and always would be, just a Mudblood to the heir of the Malfoys. She was just Granger, the know-it-all brainiac whom he despised.

Hermione sighed and turned away from the mirror. She rummaged through her trunk for her money, and decided to get some of her school things for lack of anything else to do. Her robes had become too tight in the chest-another sure sign of growth-so it was either buy new robes for her last year or look like a "scarlet woman" as Ron called them. She shuddered at the thought and decided her first stop would be Madame Malkin's.

When she walked in, an assistant led her to the back, asking what kind of robes she wanted. When she said Hogwarts robes, this was her final year, the woman asked "Which fabric?"

"I don't know, the kind I normally get?" came her puzzled reply.

"Oh, but you must see our new selection! I believe I have just the thing," and she whisked off, leaving Hermione very confused.

"I didn't know there was a selection," she told the empty shop.

"If you get new robes in your seventh year, you have options, because of the fact you will wear them other places besides Hogwarts." Hermione gasped and whirled around, her fashionable peasant skirt swirling around her legs.

"I didn't know you were into fashion, Granger," Malfoy smirked, glancing at her V-neck T-shirt. She blushed.

"My _Muggle_ friend insisted on going on a shopping spree for her senior wardrobe, and, full of goodwill-which I suspect had something to do with her parents' credit card in her hand-bought me practically an entire new wardrobe, insisting I wore old-fashioned clothes and needed some real ones. Satisfactory answer?" she snapped, talking more than usual in her embarrassment of being scared.

"I wasn't asking for an answer, but it was wonderful. I'm looking forward to seeing your new wardrobe." With a smile he walked out of the door.

Feeling very confused, Hermione was relieved when the assistant came back with a dew different fabrics and designs in hand. She ended up letting the woman decide, who was delighted. She started measuring and pinning, commenting on Hermione's "perfect figure" and simply chattering away.

Finally, with her packages of robes in hand, Hermione walked quickly back to the leaky Cauldron, deeply immersed in her confused thoughts.

~ ~ ~

Meanwhile, Draco Malfoy was laying in his bed, staring at the ceiling. He had decided to leave his home sooner than usual that summer, because of the pressure his father was putting on him to become a Death Eater. He wasn't really against the idea, but he needed more time, to make sure it was the right chioce-however, deep down, he knew he didn't have much of a choice. Now he was even more confused. When had Mudblood Granger become so drop-dead goergeous? He hoped she had chosen robes that weren't too conservative. Her make-up, clothes, figure, earrings, hair, everything about her was perfect and beautiful. She had a great personality too. He liked when she was mad. She was really cute then. She had certainly changed a lot over the summer. But then, so had he.

Draco took pride in his newly acquired muscles, knowing he looked good. He had grown up all well, and he found himself strangely hoping she would she that. "She's a Mudblood; I shouldn't like her. This is Granger. She is an ugly know-it-all," he chided himself, but couldn't believe a word of it.

He had to talk to her. He wanted to be with her, and he was afraid. Afraid of what she'd say, what he'd do, and what his father would do if he ever found out. But he needed to talk to her, to see if she felt even remotely the same way. 


	2. The First Confrontation

Hey everyone! 

I hope u liked the fic so far! Thanks to everyone who reviewed for me. 

Well, heres chapter 2, hope u like it 2, sorry I said it would come yesterday. But its here now! Please read/review, and don't flame, constructive criticism is welcome, however. ~

To Be A Spy: Chapter 2: Confrontation

Hermione walked slowly up the stairs to her room; her packages were rather heavy, and it had been a long day. As she unlocked the door, still deep in thought, suddenly her packages slipped, falling all over the floor.

"Oh, perfect," she groaned to herself, and bent down to pick them up. A pair of strong looking hands reached down and said, "Allow me." Hermione looked up in surprise into the face of Draco Malfoy just inches away from her own. She leaped back in shock. 

"What are you doing? Is it Be-nice-to-Hermione day or something? I wouldn't think you'd even be nice to me if it were! What is going on?" she nervously babbled.

"I was simply walking past and saw your packages fall. Mightn't a gentleman help someone without being verbally attacked?" Malfoy coolly replied.

"No, because you're not a gentleman. Why are you being nice to me? You never have before," Hermione said as she continued watching Malfoy pick up the packages. He suddenly straightened. She hadn't realized how tall he was. She glared up at him.

"Well?"

He stepped closer. She backed up quickly. "Are you scared of me?" He asked, and stepped closer again, the packages lying forgotten on the floor.

"No. Now please leave me alone. I'm tired and I'm in no mood right now for whatever game you're playing at, Malfoy." With that she pushed past him, unlocked her door, and kicked her packages inside. She slammed the door in his face.

"I'm not playing at anything, Hermione," he whispered quietly, then slowly walked away.

Hermione leaned against the door and breathed deeply. She couldn't let him get to her. She didn't know what he was doing, but she did know that she couldn't stand something like that happening again. She could see his cold grey eyes still; they had not been so cold. He had almost been inviting her in. she shook her head, dismissing the thoughts. "Forget about him. This is Malfoy, remember? The boy who thinks it the best thing in the world to torture _Mudbloods_. Get a grip, he's probably just trying to spook you." That strangely didn't make her feel any better, but she shook it off anyway. She picked up her packages and started on a homework assignment.

Soon, however, she found she couldn't concentrate. She changed for bed and promptly fell asleep.

~ ~ ~

Draco, however, was anything but tired. He was analyzing the conversation he had had with Hermione, trying to figure out if she really didn't like him, or was just scared to admit it. He settled on the latter, simply because that was what he hoped. "There's only one way to find out, Draco. Show her."

He tossed and turned all that night, trying to think of a way to show her his feelings without making a scene or scaring her away for good. The last time he looked at the clock it was 3 a.m. 

~ ~ ~

Early the next morning Hermione woke up, trying to remember something. Suddenly, it came to her. The confusing encounter with Malfoy last night. She had forgotten. She decided to get up, eat a quick breakfast, and head to a bookstore to do her homework.

Tom, the elderly caretaker of the Cauldron, was already up behind the bar. Hermione wondered briefly if he ever even slept. She went up to him, and greeted him good morning.

"Well, you're up early young lady, it's not even 7 o'clock yet. Well, what can I get for you this morning?"

"I'll have some scrambled eggs and toast this morning, thanks Tom." she smiled brightly and handed him a couple Galleons.

"No need for that Miss Granger, someone already paid for it."

Hermione was confused. "Who?"

"Oh, now, Miss Granger, I can't tell you that. All he said was that he was a secret admirer." Tom winked at her, and handed her the breakfast.

Secret admirer? Whatever. Hermione smiled confusedly at Tom, and took her breakfast to a corner table. She quickly finished it, said so, and the plate disappeared. She smiled at the ingenuity of the house elves and walked out back to Diagon Alley, her book bag swinging at the side of her tank top and fashion jeans. She always felt self-conscious wearing the "cool" clothes her friend got for her, but after hearing nothing but compliments from everyone, she continued wearing them.

__

Right, now, where should I go? She wondered, wandering down the street, looking in shops on her way. As she was passing Quality Quidditch Supplies, she noticed a small crowd of young boys at the window. _Oh, great_, she thought as she looked in the window, _another broom_. She was absolutely right. She glanced at the card next to it long enough to see its name-Quicksilver-before turning away in disinterest. Ron and Harry's relentless quidditch talk had done nothing for her but turn her off the sport for good, especially after Viktor. No, she didn't want to think about Viktor. After a year and a half, it was still somewhat painful. 

She continued on her way, deciding finally on Flourish & Blott's, hoping they had a reading area. As she entered, a bell clanged.

"May I help you?" an assistant inquired.

"Yes, do you have a reading area?"

"Why, of course. Excellent for doing research or homework in." he eyed her book bag. "Right this way." They went to a small alcove, somewhat separated from the rest of the store.

"Thank you," Hermione said, and sat down on one of the bean bag chairs scattered in the little room. She spread out her homework.

~ ~ ~

Draco woke up at 7 o'clock. He winced seeing the time, but couldn't go back to sleep. He got up and dressed, putting on a little cologne after his shower. When he walked down to the restaurant, Tom came over to him.

"She went out to Diagon Alley, with her book bag. I told her she didn't have to pay for breakfast."

"Thanks, Tom. I think I'll just have some coffee," Draco replied. He drank quickly and went out to Diagon Alley.

As he wandered down the street, he saw a crowd around Quality Quidditch Supplies. He walked over, and heard some young boys talking.

"It outstrips the Firebolt-"

"I want one!"

"Never been a broom like it…"

"I want one!"

"Practically twice the cost of a Nimbus 2001"

"I WANT ONE!"

Draco smiled inwardly when he saw the small child tugging on the harassed-looking mother's sleeve. He looked at the magnificent broom; it really was something. He would bet the entire Malfoy inheritance that by the end of the year Potter would have one. He always got whatever he wanted. Draco gave a snort of disgust at the thought, and turned away. His eye caught sight of Flourish & Blott's. Books were always a good getaway. He could read up on what they were doing in Ancient Runes this year…

As he walked in, a bell clanged.

"May I help you?" an assistant inquired.

"Yes, were are the books on Ancient Runes?"

"Straight back and to the left," he replied, and turned back to the books he was shelving.

Draco made his way to the back, picked out an interesting-looking book, and looked for a place to sit and read it. He finally spotted a small alcove to his right, and walked towards it. He stopped at the entrance. 

~ ~ ~ ~

What do u think will happen? Well, its kinda obvious, since this is a D/Hr fic, but please review, I liked the ones I got so far, thanx!


	3. At Last

Here's chp. 3! Thanx every1 for reviewing these!

Disclaimer: I didn't do this on the first 2, and I should have, but these characters don't belong to me, all owned by jk rowling.

Chapter 3: At Last

Hermione looked up. She quickly looked back down, pretending to be immersed in her Potions essay. But it was too late. He had seen her glance up, he had caught her eye. A slow warmth spread over Hermione's cheeks. Why was he here? She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He hadn't moved. He had an Ancient Runes book in his arms. Oh, Hermione loved that subject! He was staring at her, she could feel it.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. She looked up and snapped, "What do you want?" It had a bit more sting than she had meant, and she could see him flinch. But when he spoke, it was as coolly as normal.

"May I sit down?" calm and collected. Oh, she loved that.

"Do you need my permission? I don't own the place. Sit if you want." She waved her hand dismissively. He still stood there. "Now what?" she was getting nervous. He was simply staring at her. She blushed and looked away. "Stop staring, it's not polite."

"Excuse me." He sat down across form her bean bag, and opened the book in his hand. Soon he was immersed in it.

"Hermione couldn't concentrate, not with him so close. She kept looking up at him, but he showed nothing, completely taken in by the book. She finally ventured, "Good book?"

He looked up suddenly, and she was somehow sorry, yet not sorry, to be looking into those hard grey eyes, that she could see weren't so hard anymore. He studied her with them, the question forgotten, then slowly got up from his eat. Hermione watched, as if in a dream, as he came over, pulled her up, and kissed her.

He felt as if the world changed. Time stood still as he waited for her to resist, pull away, yell at him. When she didn't, he deepened the kiss, and was surprised when she lifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck.

He slowly let go, but so close, he whispered on her lips, "Not as good as you."

She giggled quietly, but pulled away, asking him in a serious voice, "Why?"

"Why did I kiss you? I don't know. You are very attractive. I like you." He smiled at her, his eyes warm. She loved it when his eyes were warm. She wanted them to stay that way, so she pulled him to her. As she tilted her head up to his, he whispered, "I think I love you." She smiled and flicked her tongue over his lips. They gladly complied, but she waited a second before taking advantage, just to tease him, and she could feel him laugh and pull her closer.

"Hey! What are you doing?" They broke apart quickly to see who had interrupted them. The assistant looked scandalized. "This is a bookstore, not a makeout joint! Read or leave!" He stormed out. Draco and Hermione looked at each other and burst out laughing. He helped her pick up her books and they walked out of the store hand in hand.

As they made their way back to the Leaky Cauldrom, Hermione suddenly asked him, "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"What?" Draco was confused.

"Why are you here? Why aren't you at your manor?" She still said the word somewhat contemptuously. 

"Oh, I just felt like getting out a little early. I think I missed Hogwarts. I also couldn't stand Lucius." He rolled his eyes.

"Why?" Hermione looked very concerned.

Oh, just because he's Lucius Malfoy. I mean, you've met him." Draco grinned awkwardly. "He's kind of hard to live with over long periods of time…" He glanced at her, but she seemed lost in thought.

"So you'll be here until Hogwarts starts?" she seemed upset.

"I suppose so. Why? Anything wrong?" 

"Oh, no, nothing." She muttered something he couldn't hear. He figured she ahd a right to keep her secrets, since he was keeping his. He was scared of what she would say when she found out he was a future Death Eater. She was hopelessly allied with Dumbledore. Come to think of it, that would have to be dealt with. He would get to that later, though. Right now he was just enjoying holding her soft, warm hand in his.

Hermione felt likewise. Whatever would happen when Harry and Ron arrived would happen.

Suddenly, Draco saw a cozy little alleyway, and pulled her into it for a quick kiss. She giggled as he pulled her close, but silenced when he put his lips on hers. He jumped right in, exploring her mouth and neck and loving every second of it. Soon she pulled away, however, not wanting people passing by to notice. Draco must have realized this too, because he took her hand and walked nonchalantly back onto the street.

It was almost lunchtime when they returned to the Leaky Cauldron, so Hermione decided they would have lunch now. Draco was secretly pleased she was taking for granted that they would be together. He insisted on paying, and that reminded Hermione of something. "It was you this morning! My breakfast!"

He smiled and nodded, and she hugged him. He laughed and asked, "So what are you going to have? I think I'll have the…turkey sandwich and chips."

"I'll have that too." She smiled as the food appeared before them.

"So what are we going to do for three weeks?" Hermione wondered out loud as they started eating.

"Explore! I've never had very much time here to go anywhere I want." 

"Okay, sounds great! Have you ever been to Muggle London? It's really quite fascinating," Hermione suggested timidly, knowing Draco didn't like Muggles very much.

That was a bit of an understatement, but since she liked it, Draco thought he's give it a shot. "Why not? We have plenty of time."

As they strolled down the avenue, looking in the shops, Hermione suddenly exclaimed, "That's where I got my ears pierced!"

Draco secretly rolled his eyes, as girls' shops and fashions did not appeal to him in the slightest, but allowed himself to be pulled inside.

"May I help you?" the clerk asked.

"I seem to be getting asked that a lot lately," Hermione whispered to Draco before saying aloud, "No, we're just browsing."

Draco sighed inwardly. Judging from his infrequent shopping trips with Narcissa, this could take awhile. Hermione apparantly hadn´t been as reluctant about fashion as she had made out she was, because they spent a good hour "just browsing."

Draco finally saw a beautiful bracelet that Hermione had been eyeing, and sidled over to look at the tag. Suddenly, he realized he had no Muggle money. It was a good thing he had realized this before saying anything, he thought, releived.

"All right, let's go, Draco," Hermione announced with a final furtive glance at the bracelet. As they left, Draco could distinctly hear the clerk trying to cover up a snigger with a cough. he chose to ignore it, and swept gracefully out of the shop after Hermione.

As they moved onto the sidewalk, Draco pointed out that by the time they got back to the Leaky Cauldron it would be nearly suppertime, since Hermione was not yet eighteen and had not taken her Apparation test yet, and they couldn't have Apparated anyway, in the Muggle world.

When they finally trudged into the pub, exhausted and very hungry, Tom winked at them and pointed to a table in the shadowy corner, where suddenly candles were burning. Draco smiled back at the wizened caretaker, and led Hermione over to the table, where she collapsed in the wonderful chair.

"Well, I'll sleep well tonight! It seemed like we walked twenty miles!" she exclaimed. Draco sat down across from her and picked up a menu.

"Steak, medium-well, please," and looked at Hermione.

"Oh, I'll have the spaghetti." Their food appeared, and they ate slowly, savouring the warmth of the moment. Draco looked up and saw Hermione had some tomato sauce on her cheek. He reached over and brushed it off. She laughed. Soon, however, Draco was once again troubled by the thought of his father, with the whirlwind of activity dying down. His steak quickly lost its flavour, and he started pushing it around his plate.

Hermione noticed this and asked, "What's wrong? Does it taste bad?"

"No, I think I'm just tired out. I didn't sleep very well last night." He glanced up at her and she blushed, guessing what he had been thinking about. She left it at that, and when dinner was over, they walked slowly up the stairs. They came to Hermione's room first.

"Good night, see you tomorrow." She glanced up at him, her gaze flitting to his lips. He gave her a long, lingering kiss good night, and she entered the room, slowly closing the door behind her. As she walked over to her bed, her mirror said sleepily, "I saw that, dear."

Draco made his way to his own room, which, in fact, was not far from Hermione's. he opened the door, sighed, and flopped down on his bed. Hermione's face danced before his eyes as he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

~ ~ ~

Ok, r/r please! What did you think? And when will this whole spy thing come into play? Comments, suggestions, praise (always welcome), email me or hit the review button! Thanks!


	4. Paradise

Hey, thanks for reviewing everyone, I have gotten a lot of great ones. If you have any suggestions or ways I could make the story better, feel free to tell me. I'm always looking for ways to improve!

Disclaimer: again, none of these people belong to me, all rowling's idea, etc. you already know about all this.

~ ~ ~

Chapter 4: Paradise

A bright light was shining on Draco's face. "Turn it off, I'm still sleeping!" he groaned, and threw his pillow over his face. No one answered. He cracked an eye open. His window was open, and a warm breeze was flowing in from over Diagon Alley. Sunlight streamed across the floor, hitting him squarely in the face. He quickly closed his eyes, then slowly opened then to glance at the time. "11 o'clock!" he yelped, and scrambled out of bed. "Hermione's going to think I died! We were supposed to meet for breakfast!" he chided himself as he threw open his trunk, searching for clothes. He grabbed his bathrobe and clothes, took a quick shower, dressed, and ran down to the restaurant.

He halted in the doorway and looked around. He didn't see her. He went over to the counter, and Tom said he hadn't seen her at all that morning.

_What was her room number? Oh yes, 11._ He thought to himself. He walked upstairs and knocked lightly on the door. No answer. He knocked again, then tried the door. It opened silently. She must still be asleep, he thought, as he quietly peeked inside. There, indeed, she was, sleeping peacefully. He walked over and stood above her, looking at her face. She seemed so vulnerable.

This reminded him of the main reason he had turned to her in the first place. His mother. He couldn't bear the thought of her lying there, in the living room…and so blocked it from his mind.

Hermione stirred. Someone was in the room. Suddenly, her eyes flew open, then her face relaxed into a smile. He was smiling back.

"Wake up sleepyhead! It's 11:30." He grinned as her eyes once again widened.

"11:30? Oh my gosh! Wow, I must have been really tired." He leaned down and kissed her lightly, taking her breath away.

"That's okay, so was I," he whispered in her ear. "Now you need to get up, and we are going to have brunch." He straightened and started walking out. "I'll be downstairs." Draco went downstairs slowly, savouring the kiss he had just given Hermione.

When Hermione walked down to the bar, she saw a rather angry-looking Draco talking animatedly to a short wizard in shadows. When Draco looked up and saw her, he quickly dismissed the man and walked quickly over to her.

"Who was that?" she asked him worriedly.

"Oh, just someone who works with Lucius." He smiled brightly at her, and she was satisfied, though she did wonder why he had been so angry.

Draco was glad Hermione didn't push the subject. He was now thoroughly confused. The man had been none other than a Death Eater his father knew very well. He had been sent to remind Draco he needed to make a choice soon. Draco was angry because he didn't understand what was stopping him from agreeing. His mother was no reason to not be a Death Eater. That was between himself and Lucius alone.

He tried to shake it off, and talked nonchalantly to Hermione as they ate brunch.

The day went similar to the previous afternoon. Hermione and Draco wandered around, looking at shops and exploring London. Soon the days started to blend together. Every day they spent together, talking about many different things, mostly homework however, as they disagreed on most of the current happenings with You-Know-Who.

This always brought them into a heated argument, which usually climaxed in Hermione getting mad and stalking off. Draco would then run after her and apologize; then they would kiss and continue as though nothing had happened. Soon they decided to agree to disagree, and spared themselves much emotional turmoil as a result.

Soon, however, Hermione realized Draco was hiding something from her. He would look at her and then quickly look away. Whenever she asked him, he would pass it off as nothing.

One day, the 27th of August, Hermione came down to breakfast to see Draco once again in an angry argument with the same short wizard. This time she came close before Draco saw her, and she heard a few words.

"Lucius is getting anxious-"

"I don't want to be one until after Hogwarts."

"The Dark Lord would approve of a spy-"

"I'll have to think about it. I'll let you know, Nott. Don't come to me again." His tone clearly said the conversation was over.

He walked out of the shadows, and stopped dead. Hermione was standing there, her face as white as a ghost, mouthing noiselessly at him.

"Hermione, er-hi," Draco tried a falsely bright smile, wondering how much she had heard, but it soon failed when she started to shake her head at him.

"You- you are- you are a Death Eater?" She seemed rooted to the spot.

"What? Of course not!" he walked towards her.

"Don't you touch me! You probably don't want to spoil your pure blood!" With that she turned and started running, tears streaming down her face.

He was too quick however; she hadn't gone three steps when he caught her arms. When he turned her around, she avoided his eyes.

"Look." He held out his arm, and she looked. He had rolled up his sleeve. There was nothing there.

"What?" she snapped, "There's nothing there."

"Exactly. Remember? Death Eaters have the Dark Mark burned on their arm. I don't." he looked at her hopefully, having proved the best way he knew how that he wasn't a Death Eater. She looked with narrowed eyes into his own, and saw nothing malevolent. She slowly nodded, and he pulled her close. He kissed her tear-stained lips and said, "I love you."

Her arms wrapped around his neck, and she whispered, "I love you, too."

They stood there for a long time, and Draco was content, just savouring the flavour of Hermione's lips. His hands were slowly working their way through her hair, and his lips worked their way to the nape of her neck. She buried her face in his chest, trying to stop crying, but the tears of relief kept flowing. She breathed a few shuddering breaths, smelling a faint whiff of cologne, and the shampoo he must use.

He pulled away slightly, "Feeling better?"

She nodded and smiled weakly at him. "I have something for you," he pulled something out of his pocket. It was a small box.

"Ooh, what is it?"

"Find out," and he handed her the box. She opened it slowly.

"It's beautiful!" she lifted a delicate golden bracelet out of the box. It was the exact same one she had looked at almost two weeks ago, in the Muggle shop. "How did you get Muggle money?" she wondered half to herself.

"Gringott's changes Muggle money into normal, doesn't it? Why not the other way around?" he smiled mischievously, and clasped the bracelet around her wrist. "Shall we?"

The day continued as normally as any other, ending with their customary good night kiss at Hermione's door.

Hermione's dreams that night were anything but good, however. All her dreams seemed to culminate in Draco either becoming a Death Eater or dying. Finally, after the fifth time she woke up sweating, she looked at the clock. Four a.m. it was much too early to expect him up. She decided to do some homework since she knew she would never get back to sleep. As she stumbled around, trying to find a candle, she heard a noise in the hallway.

She felt her way to the door, and cracked it open. "Harry! What are you doing? It's four in the morning! Stop banging around!" she hissed, and hurried out into the hallway to help him.

"Thanks. Sorry I got here a little unexpected, but I couldn't stand being with the Dursleys any longer. Really, they are quite suffocating." He grinned at her in the dark.

"You're not the only one having problems with their families," she mumbled as she lifted the other end of his trunk.

"So, how was your summer? I like your new haircut, it looks nice on you." Seeing as how Hermione's hair was anything but looking nice at the moment, she glared at him. "I mean, it will look nice, I bet, when it's not the middle of the night," he amended quickly, catching her death glare in the dark. He didn't often get it; it was usually reserved for Ron. In spite of the fact that Hermione and Ron fought like a married couple, their relationship had not turned romantic like many people, including Harry himself, had expected it to.

Harry stopped in front of Room 16, which, Hermione groaned inwardly, just happened to be the room next to Draco's. Harry arriving had cut short their time alone together by three days. She didn't really want to see what would happen when each of them thought they were the only ones that would be spending time with her. She winced at the thought of the scene that was bound to happen later that day.

After Harry was settled, Hermione asked him if he had heard from Ron.

"No. He's not here?" so she filled him in on what had happened at the Burrow. "Oh, great. I hope he gets here soon, I wanted to ask him about the Quidditch Cup." Suddenly, a thought struck him. "Wait, if he wasn't here, what did you do all the time you've been here?"

"Oh, nothing really. Just, you know, homework, and stuff." This seemed to satisfy him, and she breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't pursue the subject. He'd find out soon enough what she had _really_ been doing, and she was in no hurry for that to happen, since Harry and Draco were mortal enemies.

"Well, since I'm up, I think I'll go get dressed and all, so I'll see you later, Harry." She walked slowly out of the room, glancing at Room 17 next door, and praying the day would somehow go by without the two enemies meeting, yet knowing it was impossible. Come to think of it, maybe she should warn Draco that Harry was here. This could get very ugly if she didn't. 


	5. In The Bedroom

Great everyone! Here's another chapter. Tostedpaco, we get to Draco's change a little later, you've had some hints at it though! See if you can find them…

Disclaimer: JK Rowling came up with it all (except my plot!). the characters belong to her…

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Chapter 5: In the Bedroom

Hermione rapped lightly on Draco's door. No answer. Of course he wouldn't be awake, it wasn't even five a.m. She decided to go take a shower and come back.

Half an hour later, Hermione, hair still damp, and still in her pajamas, came out of the shower and went to Room 17. She knocked again. No answer still. She decided to go in and wake him up. She didn't want Harry and Draco to run into each other without Draco knowing Harry was there.

As she eased open the door, Draco stirred and rolled over. She slipped in and closed the door. "Wake up, Draco," she whispered as she walked over to his bed. She couldn't see him in the dark, but she sensed he didn't move. She leaned over and said a little louder, "Wake up, Draco."

His eyes snapped open, and sensing someone there, he jumped out of bed and grabbed her in a chokehold. She exclaimed vehemently, but his hand muffled her cry over her mouth. He realized who she was, and loosened his hold, and turned her around. She noticed he was wearing nothing but boxers, and blushed. He, of course, couldn't see it in the dark.

"What are you doing? It can't be 6 o'clock yet!" he asked her. She was almost hypnotized by the feel of his bare arms around her, and promptly forgot what she had come to tell him.

"Er…I came to tell you something…" she trailed off as she looked into his eyes piercing the gloom. "I-I- can't remember…" and he leaned down and kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he pressed his lips to hers. She could feel his bare chest breathing in and out, his mouth taking in the taste of hers, and slowly his hands moved downwards.

Draco could feel her stiffen, as his hands wandered, and reluctantly he wrapped them back around her waist. She relaxed into his arms, and he pulled her closer, respecting her hesitation. It would have to wait.

Hermione pulled away, and he asked, "Do you remember now?" she laughed, then became serious.

"Yes, I came to tell you Harry arrived last night, and…well, he doesn't know about us, you know. So I just came to warn you, and, should we tell him?" she said all of this very fast.

Draco groaned. He knew it had been too good to last. Hermione wouldn't be at the Leaky Cauldron without her bodyguards without a reason. He contemplated what this meant for the rest of the holidays.

He couldn't see her much in the next five days because of stupid Potter, or they could come right out and tell him, and to hell with Potter. The latter was what he was yearning to do, but the former was obviously the best choice. He couldn't taint Hermione's reputation and friendships so selfishly.

"No, we shouldn't tell him. It would never work out then. Spend time with Potter, but don't give up completely, ok? I still want to see you." He looked hopefully at her.

"Ok, I think I'll manage. Ron is coming" (at this Draco snorted) "in a couple days" Hermione glared at him) "so they will probably be talking about Quidditch non-stop. I'll have plenty of time then." She smiled at this annoying, but slight, fault in her friends, which she could now use to her advantage. They noticed nothing when they talked about Quidditch.

Throughout this time the room had gradually been getting lighter as dawn broke, and Hermione could now see that the only thing separating their bodies was a small amount of air, Draco's boxer shorts, and her thin, suddenly inadequate lingerie pajamas under her loosely tied bathrobe. She blushed.

Draco grinned at the sight of this, and pulling her close again, he slowly started untying her bathrobe. "Not now, Draco, please. I'm not ready yet." Hermione looked up at him with scared chocolate eyes, and he just as slowly tied it back up again, a little looser this time, winking at her when he was done. 

"I still love you." He grinned at her impishly, bodily picked her up and twirled her around. She giggled as he set her down, kissed her lightly, and gave her a small swat on the rear. "Get going now. I'm going to get properly dressed. Or do you think I should just walk around in this?" he struck a silly pose. Hermione laughed and hit him playfully on the shoulder.

"I'm going, you goose. I'll meet you downstairs in half an hour, ok? Harry didn't get here till four, so he won't be coming down anytime soon. We can enjoy one last meal together." She swept out of the room and eased the door closed behind her, realizing Harry was right next door, and fervently hoping the walls were very thick and Harry was deeply asleep.

Hermione decided to go back to her rooms to get dressed and put on her makeup. She was relieved Draco loved her for who she was and not so she would have sex with him. She was sure that, when she was ready, it would be him, but she wasn't ready-yet.

Draco leaned against the wall and sighed. He wanted her. He couldn't deny it. He didn't want to wait, but she had said not _yet_. He smiled to himself, and hoped the yet would come very soon.

Half an hour later they walked downstairs, arm in arm. As soon as they finished breakfast, Hermione asked Draco, "So what time and where should I meet you? It's going to be hard to shake Harry off without Ron to distract him."

Draco thought. "Maybe tell him you want to go to bed early. Then you can go out the back way and meet me there." This sounded good to Hermione.

"Ok, I'll be there around 9."

"Great. So, should we walk around or do you want to go back to your room and wait for Potter?" his voice clearly said which one he'd rather do.

"He won't be up for a while, let's go outside."

The rest of the morning passed uneventfully, and Hermione and Draco returned to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. Hermione went in first, and there was Harry, already sitting at a table.

"Welcome to the land of the living, Harry," she said, and smiled as she sat down next to him.

"Hey, it's not my fault. The Dursleys practically kicked me out the door last night. I didn't have much of a choice.

"Oh, no! What did you do to make them so angry? You didn't blow up someone again, did you?" she said this last part with a smile on her face.

"No, actually, this snake in the garden-"

"Oh, I bet they caught you talking to it." It was a widely known fact that Harry was a Parseltongue. (A/N: anyone who either didn't know that or doesn't know what it means, I don't know why you are reading it.)

Actually, they did. well, Dudley did." Harry grimaced at the thought of his cousin, who had now reached the size of two sumo wrestlers combined. Luckily, Dudley had avoided the beach at all costs in Majorca.

Harry went on to tell her the whole story: Dudley had walked out into the garden and saw Harry. He had been giving the snake a talking to, because if Aunt Petunia found it, it was as good as dead. Harry had become a lot more accustomed to talking with snakes in the past two years. Any he could talk to he warned against Voldemort. Soon it became natural- for him at least.

So when Dudley caught him, he had run (!) screaming into the house, and Aunt Petunia came running out with a butcher knife in her hand. By now the snake was nowhere in sight, but Petunia turned on Harry.

"I want you out of this house and I don't want you to ever come back! This is the last straw! Your schooling will be done next summer and you will go out in the real world on your own! You have two hours!" and she stormed back in the house.

Of course, Harry was only too glad to leave, so he packed up his wizard stuff and Hedwig, and went outside. He hoped the Knight Bus ran this early, as it was barely past dusk. He held out his wand arm, and sure enough, there was a loud bang. The violently purple triple-decker bus was in front of him. He hopped on, "…and I came here." Harry finished.

"Well, what are you going to do when you can't go back? Where are you going to live after Hogwarts?" Hermione was anxious.

"Oh, I'll find somewhere. I can always stay at Ron's until I find an apartment or something." Harry blushed, and Hermione knew he was thinking about Ginny. Even though "Ron and Hermione" hadn't worked out, "Harry and Ginny" was blossoming rapidly. Since this was the last year at Hogwarts for Harry, and Ginny had one more after, they couldn't get too -involved- but Harry would wait patiently for Ginny to finish. Most people had no doubts they would get married.

Hermione, suddenly remembering they would be working at this time next year, asked Harry, "So, have you decided between professional Qudditch and Auror yet?" This had been something Harry had thought long and hard about.

He sighed. "No. I love Quidditch, but I really want to fight Voldemort, too." As he sunk into deep thought.

"Well, you have all year to think about it!" Hermione said cheerfully, trying to pull Harry out of his reverie.

They spent the day catching up on everything, and owled Ron to see when he was coming. Harry had to get a few books, but he had gotten new robes the previous year, and didn't need new ones. They were both very excited for their last year, but Hermione was by far the more. She had been named Head Girl, which she had forgotten in the excitement of Draco, and she told Harry this excitedly. Harry was glad she had something to do, because he and Ron had felt kind of bad whenever they went to Quidditch practice, leaving her alone.

Harry was, of course, still Quidditch captain, as he had been since fifth year. Neither him nor Ron had ever been made prefects, but they hadn't really expected to, what with all the rule bending and breaking they did.

After supper that evening Hermione announced she wanted to go to bed early. "You woke me this morning with your banging," Harry opened his mouth in protest, "I know you didn't mean to" she quickly amended, and his mouth closed, "but I'm really tired, so I think I'll go to bed now."

Harry nodded. "You're right, I'm tired too. I think I'll turn in as well." They climbed up the stairs and Harry walked into his room. Hermione, however, went back downstairs and out the back door.


	6. Headaches

Thanks for the great reviews! Here's the next chapter, so you don't have to die, dracoluva. This chapter explains a whole lot, and its also got a lot of juicy stuff in it…if you know what I mean;-)

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Chapter 6: Headaches

A hand pulled her to the side and a pair of lips were pressed to hers. They were hungry, searching her mouth, her neck, tracing her jaw. "I missed you today," he mumbled against her lips. She opened her eyes and stared into those silver ones she loved. "I love you." He looked back. "I need to tell you something/" pulled back slightly, still holding her in his arms, but his face partly in the shadows of the streetlight. Diagon Alley was deserted, everyone having gone home when the shops closed.

Draco looked serious. "I didn't know if I should tell you. But I decided I wanted to be completely honest with you."

"What, Draco?" Hermione was starting to get nervous. He seemed so serious.

"My father and some of his associates have-" he broke off at a noise right inside the door. He looked around and pulled her into the shadows. There was a small nook in the wall that they squeezed into as some men came out the door. They had obviously had too much to drink, because they were singing loudly and weaving as they walked. Draco decided they'd better stay put; there was no telling what drunken wizards might do.

Suddenly he realized Hermione was crushed against him, in this small nook in the wall, and he felt her soft breasts against his own firm chest. He suddenly was awakened to his desire, and leaned down to her, opening his mouth on hers and moving his hands up and down her arms. He knew what she would do if he did what he really wanted to, so he restrained himself, barely. He settled for wrapping his hands in her soft curls, tracing her jaw with his tongue. To his surprise she responded with fervor. She ran her hands up his chest and worked his mouth with hers.

Hermione was elated. She was drowning in love with this man. She pulled him even closer, pushing her body against him, moving with him. The contours of their bodies fit together perfectly.

When his hands moved downwards, she made no effort to stop them, until they started lifting up her shirt. She was not ready for that. She knew she couldn't handle it yet. She overpowered her emotions, and moved her hands down his arms, grabbing his inching hands. She shook her head at him, and brought them back around her waist, making sure they were firmly secured before moving her own hands back up around his neck. She moved her head caught his mouth, and brought his tongue back to hers.

Draco was let down when he felt her grab his hands; he had almost been there, had almost gotten to her. _All in good time_, he thought, as his tongue moved with hers in a complicated dance only lovers know the moves to.

Suddenly Draco realized he could no longer hear the drunken men singing. He slowly pulled away, out of the alcove where they had been hiding. He peered down the street. No one was there. He pulled Hermione out, looking lovingly at her face. _She is the most beautiful girl on the planet_, he thought to himself. He brushed a stray hair off her rosy cheeks, and she looked back at him with loving chocolate eyes.

Hermione looked at her watch. It was 10:30! "Draco, we've been out here for over an hour!" 

He grinned at her. "Was it worthwhile?"

She blushed and threaded her arm through his. "I'm tired. Let's go in." he led her inside and escorted her upstairs to her room. After a lingering kiss she went inside.

Draco walked to his room, wishing they could have stayed outside. He loved Hermione, though he knew what he was thinking now was lust. He wanted her. He hadn't gotten to anything in her shirt but her stomach before she had stopped him. He wanted her with a passion, but knew that if he pushed her he would never get her. He wished she would hurry up though. He shook his head, knowing it was no good to wish, and went to sleep.

Harry woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. He wished he were at Hogwarts, where he could go to Madame Pomfrey for a headache cure. When Hermione knocked on his door around 9, he groaned, "Come in."

She peered inside, and saw he was still in bed, and the lights were off. "What's wrong Harry?" she came in. "Don't you feel well? You look very pale."

"No, I have an awful migraine. You don't happen to have any aspirin with you, do you?" he looked hopefully at his muggle-born friend.

She shook her head. "Sorry, no. I could ask Tom if he has something."

"Anything, please." He rolled over and shut his eyes as she exited, searching for Tom.

She found him, of course, in the bar, and asked for a headache cure. He said, "I have just the thing, Miss Granger," and disappeared into the back. "This will cure any headache you've got, from hangovers to the Plague." He smiled at his own joke, and quickly declined when Hermione offered him money. She walked back upstairs.

"Here, Harry. Tom said this will help." She handed him a glass full of the cure, and he gulped it down. He waited.

"It worked!" he exclaimed, and sat upright. "I feel much better." Hermione noticed Harry slept in a much more conservative style than Draco did. He was wearing an old T-shirt of Dudley's, which was still far too big for him, though he had shot up some lately. He was taller than Hermione by a good few inches.

"Well, get dressed and I'll meet you for breakfast downstairs." She exited once again, and glanced next door, which was cracked open. She caught his wink before he closed the door.

Smiling to herself, she moved downstairs, in no hurry. She paused on the landing, hearing a noise, but couldn't quite place it. It seemed like a _tap, tap, tap_. She looked around, and her eye caught the window. Pig was tapping furiously on it, zooming around in a circle, and returning to tap again. Hermione hurried over and opened the window.

He zoomed inside. The owl had lost none of his hyper energy even when he had grown up; figuratively, no literally. He was still a tiny owl, able to fit in the palm of someone's hand. He was as excited as when he had delivered his very first letter. Hermione grabbed him as he swooped around her head, and quickly untied the letter from his leg.

"What are you doing?" she whiled around.

"Harry, you scared me! Look, it's a letter from Ron." Harry moved down the last couple steps and looked over her shoulder as she unfolded the letter. She read aloud:

Dear Harry and Hermione,

Everyone at our house is finally well, and has been okayed to leave. Dad is relieved to be going back to work, knowing he'll have piles of work to do because of the recent Auror raids. I'm sure you've read all about them in the paper. Percy has almost been inconsolable ever since we were quarantined. He didn't have the bug very bad, and you know how he lives for work, so the three weeks were pure torture for him. I'm glad to be getting out, too. The twins have been going crazy with all their energy. They invented a few new items for their shop; you might want to check them out, they're quite good, I think. Ginny can't wait to see you, Harry. You'd better brace yourself, because we'll be getting there by tonight. Mum is scrambling to get everybody packed. It isn't quite as bad with only me and Ginny still at school, but the twins want to come too, and market their items. I have a keen suspicion they are trying to put Zonko's out of business. So anyway, we can talk soon, just wanted to let you know we're coming!

Ron

"Oh, that's great! He'll be here earlier than he said he would!" Hermione was way overly excited about this, Harry thought, but shrugged it off. She could get excited about anything.

Harry really wanted to go to Quality Qudditch Supplies, but Hermione flat out refused to go, saying, "Ron, will be here soon, you can go with him." Since Harry suspected she was associating Quidditch with Krum, he let it go, and they spent the day wandering around Diagon Alley, which Harry knew almost as well as Hermione by now. Hermione insisted on getting some new books on advanced something-or-other that Harry didn't know what she was talking about. She went on about it for half and hour, Harry just smiling, and nodding when it seemed appropriate.

Draco spent his day much differently. Lucius had sent him an owl reminding him of the choice needing to be made. Draco sat in his room, deep in thought, for most of the afternoon. He took a break for dinner, where he noticed a rather loud party of Weasleys, along with Hermione and Harry, eating. 

When Draco returned to his room after eating, he continued thinking, having not gotten very far in the process that afternoon. He was simply going in circles in his mind as he tried to figure out what to do, and how to handle the situation. Now, more than ever, he missed having any close friends. Crabbe and Goyle were stupid minions, and Pansy was a complete airhead who didn't care about anything but her "beauty." He didn't have any adults he could trust. He would never go to Dumbledore; he wouldn't sink that low as to go to that long-nosed muggle-lover.

Which left Hermione. She was calm, rational, logical, and cared about him. He had tried to tell her last night…His mind wandered, and he yanked it back on track. The only problem was that Hermione was muggle-born. She would obviously be biased. But then, wouldn't everyone? Long ago, most people had picked their sides. Draco now found himself having to do just that.

On the one hand, if he didn't comply, he would be biting the hand that fed him, literally. On the other, if he did, he would probably lose Hermione, since the Dark side would never allow a faithful Death Eater to marry a mudblood. 

On one hand, power, on the other, love. Which did he want more? This was what all his thinking led him to. And he had no answer. It was all so confusing, especially when he added in the main reason why he had turned to Hermione in the first place.

He had noticed she was pretty last year, but had instantly dismissed her, as friends with Potty and the Weasel, and a mudblood. When he had gotten home for the summer holidays, however, things had drastically changed. Lucius (he couldn't bring himself to call the man Father when he thought of this) had become very violent. The Dark Lord was taking rash measures to keep his Death Eaters in line, as a few had taken the idea into their heads that they were losing the battle, and wanted out of the Dark side. Voldemort had used them as an example of what happened when people double-crossed him. He encouraged his followers to do the same, and Lucius and taken this deeply to heart. Every time Narcissa and he would argue, he decided to follow the example of his Lord. He beat her, tortured her, until she gave up and gave in. The sight of his mother, abused and broken on the floor in front of his father, was more than Draco could bear. He decided to spite Lucius to make up for what Narcissa couldn't do. To his surprise he had thought instantly of Hermione. Well, why not? She was beautiful; he had to admit that. She was also smart, not like Pansy. She was logical and quick at thinking.

The problem now was he no longer was into it because he wanted to spite Lucius. What he told Hermione was true. He loved her. He was suddenly reminded of a saying Lucius had told him once: "Love is weak. Love makes you weak. Power is the only thing you need." This was the reason he was able to hurt his wife so brutally. She stood in the way of his power, and he did not love her.

Draco knew now that love did make you weak. But was that bad? He knew he could not become a Death Eater because of his love for Hermione. This led him straight back to the earlier question: Did he want love or power? Could he possible have both? Maybe…not the way he had been taught, but maybe a different way…

This brought him to another point. As Head Boy he was in a wonderful position of power. Lucius had used his influence and Draco's good marks to make sure his son was Head Boy, hopefully as a Death Eater. Draco decided he needed to talk to Hermione about it. He needed to make sure he was making the right choice.

However, when Draco looked at the clock it was one a.m. he was shocked at how long he had been simply thinking. Suddenly, a headache crashed down on him and it was all he could do to turn out the lights and collapse into bed before he was out. 


	7. Weasleys

Chapter 7 is up! I might not get chapter 8 up till Friday, cuz I have a bunch of stuff going on tomorrow and Thursday, sorry! I'll make up for it, I promise. Enjoy this!

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Chapter 7: Weaselys

Hermione suddenly realized the Weaselys were supposed to get there that night. Where were they? As she and Harry walked into the pub, a roar of noise met them.

"Harry! Hermione!" Hermione saw a rush of red, and the breath was knocked out of her. It was, of course, the Weaselys. Mrs. Weasely stood back, and when her children were done, she stepped forward and gave each of them a loving hug.

"We missed you two so much at the Burrow this summer! That dratted Nile virus!" she stepped back to survey them. "Harry! You must have grown two inches! Do your robes still fit?" she chuckled and turned to Hermione. "Well, well, well, what have we here? My, you've changed young lady! Where's that bushy hair I remember? Pierced ears!?! And you've grown some too, though not very much up." She winked at Hermione, and the girl smiled, embarrassed. 

Ron looked confused, but Fred and George roared with laughter. George looked pointedly at Hermione, which made her blush even more. Harry looked like he was trying not to laugh, and Ginny looked scandalized.

"I don't get it! What's so funny?" Ron tried to ask Fred.

"We'll fill you in later tonight," Fred said mysteriously, "on the wonders of women."

Hermione swatted Fred on the arm. "Don't you dare go giving him any ideas!"

"Not to fear, my good lady! Sir Fred is an honorable knight who would never take advantage of a pretty damsel." He bowed with a flourish, and Hermione laughed.

Ron announced he was famished ("what else is new?" Hermione muttered), so they all went into the restaurant. Hermione noticed Harry and Ginny holding hands. She decided maybe Ron wouldn't be the one distracting Harry after all. 

They had a merry dinner, and after they all went upstairs. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny went to Harry's room. Ron would be staying there, and Ginny would be staying in Hermione's room. They talked late into the night about the happenings with You-Know-Who and the Death Eaters. The Aurors had not made much headway, but neither had the Dark side. They had been at a stalemate for almost a year now. Hermione also was congratulated on her Head Girl status.

"I get my own room, you know. It's off the Common Room, not the dorm stairs." She smiled.

"That's not fair! 'Course, if I got my own room, I wouldn't get to listen to Ron snore, and that would be a real shame." Harry grinned, and ducked as Ron threw a pillow at him.

"Oh, stop being immature, you two. You're practically adults now," Ginny pointed out. This sobered them. They looked at each other.

"Wow, Ron. We won't be at Hogwarts next year," Harry said, as if it were something he had just realized.

"Yeah….weird!" Ron grinned and threw his other pillow at Harry. They laughed.

Ginny pointedly turned to Hermione. "So, Hermione, have you decided what you'll do for your career yet?" 

"Not really. I'm thinking of something along the lines of research…"

By this time the boys had stopped laughing and were listening. "Researching what?" Ron asked.

"Oh, I'm not sure, that's the problem. I could join the Ministry, or a private company. And then there are so many companies to choose, there's so many options!" she decided to change the subject. Her future was one thing she was completely unsure about, especially if Draco was involved.

They kept chatting, but soon Ginny decided she was tired, so the girls left for bed. Harry had noticed Hermione glancing at the neighboring room a lot, but had no idea why, so didn't say anything.

Early the next morning there was a pounding on the Ginny and Hermione's door. "Wake up!" someone kept shouting.

Hermione jerked awake and looked alarmed at Ginny. She had simply rolled over. Hermione sighed, got up, and cracked the door open.

It was jerked open wide, and Hermione squealed. "Fred! George! I'm not dressed!" she quickly reached behind her, grabbed her bathrobe, and wrapped it around her.

George waggled his eyebrows and winked at her. "I think you should take that off, ma'am. We could tell you had grown much better without it!" Fred guffawed as Hermione blushed furiously.

"Shut up!" Hermione was embarrassed at getting caught in her rather revealing pajamas. Her house was always so warm in the summer; she had bought some lingerie when out shopping with her friend. It was much more comfortable, and cooler, than her usual long-sleeves-and-pants pajamas. 

By now the young men had moved on to Harry and Ron's room, and were banging furiously on the door. Harry, of course, was the one who answered it, this being a tradition of the twins that the other Weaselys had learned to sleep through.

As Fred and George ran back to their room, elated with their final success, Harry and Hermione slammed their doors simultaneously. 

Hermione looked at the clock, and silently cursed the twins. It was 6 o'clock. She knew she would never get back to sleep, so slowly gathered her things and walked to the shower. 

As she walked down the hallway, a hand pulled her inside a room. "What was all that banging?" Draco asked her.

"Fred and George."

"They are still that immature?"

"Some people never grow up. Besides, they wouldn't really be Fred and George without thier pranks." Hermione smiled.

"So are you going to be able to get away today?"

"Probably not. Everyone is going to want to hang out today." She sighed again.

"I miss you." She looked up into his eyes.

"I miss you, too." Her gaze fell to his lips as they moved closer to hers. Her eyes closed when they met, relaxing into his arms.

Draco loved the trust he felt radiating from Hermione whenever he kissed her. He held her in his arms, and she relaxed completely. It was only when he tried something new that she stiffened and pulled away. He would never be able to figure girls out. All Pansy ever wanted was what Hermione didn't, and vice versa.

As his thoughts turned back to the present, he heard someone calling Hermione's name in the hallway.

Hermione gasped. The door was open! She ran over and closed it right before Ginny passed. She leaned against the door and tried to slow her breathing. Draco always did that to her.

He walked over to her, and put his ear to the door. There wasn't anything. He slowly opened the door. "All clear. I'll talk to you soon," he whispered in her ear, and kissed it.

As Hermione slipped out the door she grabbed her shower stuff from the floor where she had dropped it. 

When she descended to the restaurant, Fred, George, and Harry were already there. Ginny came over shortly, and asked Hermione where she had been.

"I was in the bathroom."

"I looked there. I didn't see you." Ginny's eyes were questioning.

"I was there. You must have just missed me." Hermione said this very firmly. Ginny raised her eyebrows but said no more.

Ron came down with Mrs. Weasely around 8. They spent the day similarly to the way Harry and Hermione had spent theirs the previous day.

Hermione knew she would never be able to get away. Ginny had latched on to her because Ron and Harry had been talking Quidditch all morning. Ron was trying to convince Harry that if he was going to try out for a professional team, he needed to get a Quicksilver broom. Harry was putting up feeble arguments, but flatly refused because he said he "didn't want to waste money."

Later that evening, after another rather raucous meal, Harry and Ginny disappeared. Hermione looked knowingly at Ron. They were still great friends, even though the romance thing had never worked out between them.

The two spent the evening with Fred and George, who, as Ron had mentioned in his letter, had discovered a few new things for their joke shop, and seemed to want to test them out. Since the twins were now adults, they could do magic. They spent the evening pranking unsuspecting customers, until Tom came over and asked them to stop scaring away people. The foursome then moved upstairs, to Fred and George's room number 20. The played a few games of Exploding Snap, the twins commenting constantly on Hermione's "growth spurt." Eventually Hermione started ignoring it. The twins then got more graphic, and she decided it was time to go. So with a last yell of "Shut up!" she stormed out of the room, leaving the boys laughing like maniacs behind her.'Hermione wasn't really mad. She had had to endure catcalls all summer, especially when she went to the beach. Hermione grimaced, remembering one especially disturbing run-in with some men. The ringleader and some friends had followed her and two of her friends around, until they reached a secluded area that was deserted. The girls had not bothered to put on cover-ups over their bikinis, and the leader had gone straight for Hermione. The girls had screamed, but the young men had cornered them very well, and there was nowhere to run. Luckily, a lifeguard on his break heard the scream and came over. He chased the guys away with the threat of the police, and made sure the girls were okay. They were shaken, but otherwise unscathed. The men had done no damage, but Hermione still shuddered thinking of what could, and probably would, have happened if it wasn't for that lifeguard.

She supposed this was why she was so skittish with Draco. It reminded her of the man reaching towards her, a gleam in his eye. She had no idea why, since the situation was as different as possible.

When Hermione entered her room, Ginny was already asleep. She tiptoed over to her bed, slipped into her pajamas, and went to sleep.

In the morning Harry came and knocked on their door. Ginny answered it, and immediately left, leaving the door open. Hermione rolled over, but couldn't go back to sleep with the noise from downstairs. She got up and closed the door, but knew it was no good trying to go back to sleep.

Seeing as the next day they would be going to King's Cross, Hermione decided to pack as much as she could that day. After she threw on a blue halter-top and a jean skirt, she packed all the rest of her clothes except the ones for the next day into her trunk. She did her make-up and went out into the hallway. Ron's and the twins' doors were still closed, she noticed, as she walked towards Room 17. She knocked lightly, but just then Ron opened his door.

"What are you doing?" he asked her, puzzled.

"Oh, woops! Wrong door!" she smiled brightly and walked downstairs with Ron, glancing back apologetically at Draco looking out his door. He smiled and winked, and closed his door again. Hermione silently cursed Ron as she looked at the slightly hurt look on Draco's face through the smile. 


	8. Welcome Back

Told you I would make up for it! This is a really long chappy, and I wrote it both at school and late at night in bed, so you better be happy! Just kidding, but seriously, I've been really busy lately. I like writing in geometry, keyboarding, and science. Guess what grade I'm in? Whatever. I saw Chamber of Secrets on Tuesday! It was really great, hilarious! Did anyone else notice that if it wasn't for his hair Tom Riddle would have been extremely hot? Who played him? Include it in your review if you know please! Sean Biggerstaff, was, of course, very hot, too. You probably don't care, so anyway…here's the next chapter. Oh, and taxlexia, I don't get what you mean. Don't buy them? You'll learn more later.

Disclaimer: I think I forgot this last time, and you all know it anyway, but none of this belongs to me, etc. etc. JK Rowling is the queen of the Harry Potter universe…

Chapter 8: Welcome Back

At lunch Hermione insisted she needed a break from the whirlwind of places they had gone that morning. They decided to have lunch at Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlor, where they actually served much more than ice cream. Ron and Harry had insisted she get an owl with her birthday money, remembering that summer their third year where she had set out to buy an owl, but ended up with Crookshanks. 

"You can't depend on other people for owls once you're out of school Hermione," Ron reasoned. Since Crookshanks was now back with Mrs. Figg, Hermione decided they were right. She exited Eeylop's Owl Emporium with a tawny owl the saleswoman had said matched her hair.

"So, what should I name you?" Hermione murmured to the owl.

"How about-" Ginny started saying.

"No!" Ron interrupted her. "We already have an owl named what you wanted, and look how he turned out!" 

Hermione laughed. She decided to name it Sorinne, after her great aunt who had died earlier in the summer.

"Great way to honor your aunt, name an owl after her," Ron muttered to Harry, who just laughed.

That night everyone went to bed early. "Remember, we have to get up and to King's Cross by half past ten," Mrs. Weasely reminded them.

Hermione couldn't wait until they got to Hogwarts, where everyone would be distracted and she could meet Draco.

The next morning, to everyone's surprise, everything went smoothly. They got to the station at quarter past, and there weren't many muggles around to watch them go through the barrier to Platform Nine-and three-quarters. 

Hermione, as Head Girl, was supposed to ride in the front with the prefects, but had not dome so when she was a prefect and saw no reason to change now. She sat with Harry and Ron in their usual compartment, with Hedwig, Pig, and Sorinne sleeping in their cages.

Usually Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle would come to their compartment and hassle them, but it didn't happen this year. Hermione suggested that maybe Malfoy was growing up, to which Ron snorted with laughter. "Malfoy? Grow up? You've really gone mad this time, Hermione, I don't care if you're Head of the entire school!" Harry laughed too until he saw the hurt look on Hermione's face.

"Aw, come on Hermione, he was joking!"

"I think I'm going to go change into my robes now." She got up stiffly and left the room.

Ron gaped at Harry. "Was it something I said?" Harry nodded, puzzled.

Hermione angrily stalked down the corridor. Of all the things! She couldn't very well _tell_ Ron that Draco had grown up, especially after he laughed at her for simply suggesting it, when it came to bothering Harry, Ron, and herself. Though she loved and cherished Ron's friendship, sometimes he made her so mad she just wanted to-well, she didn't know what, but do something. Hit him or something. 

Hermione was so angry still when she came out of the bathroom that she didn't see where she was going and ran right into a brick wall. She fell back, but a hand caught her.

"Watch where you're going! You might run into somebody!" Hermione looked up at the owner of the hand, and brick wall chest. It was none other than Draco Malfoy. 

"You're hilarious, Draco." But she smiled anyway. Then she saw a certain badge on his robes. "You're Head Boy?" she asked him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It must have slipped my mind. You can be very distracting, you know." He grinned. He suddenly noticed another certain badge on her own robes. "And how come you didn't tell me you're Head Girl?" he inquired, still grinning.

"Well, this handsome young man swept me off my feet, and I totally forgot to mention it to him." Hermione saw Harry and Ron coming from far down the corridor. "Uh-oh. Here comes Harry and Ron. You'd better go. See you later." 

Draco adopted his usual smirk and brushed past Harry and Ron on his way to his compartment. Crabbe and Goyle were waiting there. He sighed and wished he could have gone with Hermione to a completely different place altogether.

Crabbe and Goyle barely looked up when Draco entered. They were playing Exploding Snap, and that took all their brain cells and then some. Draco sat down in the corner and opened his Ancient Runes book. He found ancient languages to be fascinating, having already learned many of them fluently. Of course, he could never talk with Crabbe and Goyle about this, they would never understand. He wished he had picked smarter friends. But then, he hadn't had much choice in the matter. With Hermione, he could talk to his heart's content, but, of course, no one could know that.

The train slowed to a stop. When Draco got out he heard the gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher Rubeus Hagrid greeting Hermione, Potter, and Weasely. He knew for a fact that Hagrid and the Beauxbatons Headmistress Madame Maxime had gone on a peace mission to the giants the summer after their fourth year. Most of the giants had then refused to rejoin Voldemort when he called upon them. Lucius had often expressed his wish to kill the two half-giants because of their hindrance to the Dark Lord's power, but as they were both under Dumbledore's protection, dared not.

Draco continued to his carriage where Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson were waiting. Pansy looked at Draco seductively. "Hello, Draco." She crossed her legs and the slit she had cut in her robes revealed her slim tan thighs.

"Pansy." Draco nodded icily. Pansy looked confused, but then her eyes hardened and she looked out the window as if nothing was wrong. 

Draco didn't feel bad about hurting her feelings. She was a malicious girl who did whatever it took to get what she wanted. He couldn't understand how he could have ever liked her.

When Hermione, Ron, and Harry got into a carriage, Ron turned to face Hermione. "So what was Malfoy talking to you about on the train?"

"He was admiring my Head Girl badge." she smirked.

"Yeah, I'll bet he was. So who's the Head Boy this year?" Ron asked her.

"Malfoy."

"Very funny. So who is it?"

"Malfoy!"

"Really? That git? How…oh. His precious father." Ron made a face. They all knew what he meant. Harry and Hermione had also had their fair share of run-ins with the suspected Death Eater, and he never passed up a chance to ridicule the Weaselys' lack of money, Harry's celebrity status or dead parents, and Hermione's muggle heritage. Hermione was extremely glad Draco hadn't turned out like his father.

Hermione wondered if maybe Lucius had a reason for wanting Draco to be Head Boy. She shook the thought from her head. Draco wouldn't do that to her.

The Sorting Ceremony went well, with plenty of the new first years going to Gryffindor. Dumbledore stood up for his usual pre-feast announcements. He looked around gravely. "I know I don't need to impress upon each and every one of you the seriousness that is gripping our world. I trust you all will remain within the rules this year, as violations may result in more strict punishments. I call upon the Head Boy and Girl" he looked at Draco, the Hermione, "to set examples for the younger students. Now, without further ado, let's eat!" and the plates filled with delicious food.

As they ate, the Gryffindors talked about what had happened the previous day. A group of Death Eaters had killed a muggle family in London, and just that morning the Magical Law Enfocement Department had issued a warrant for the arrest of Christopher Avery and Malarus Nott.

When the feast was over, everyone started to leave the hall. Dumbledore motioned Draco and Hermione up to the staff table. "I expect the two of you will get along this year." Hermione and Draco nodded without looking at each other. Dumbledore looked at each of them and his eyes twinkled, but he said nothing more about it. "I need to show you to your rooms. Follow me." They first went towards the dungeons. When they reached a painting of a man with a large sword, waving it merrily, Dumbledore said to Draco, "Here's a separate entrance to your room. Your password is on this piece of paper." Draco nodded and took the paper. He tuned toweards the painting but Dumbledore added, "And if you ever need anything, anything at all, you come straight to me." He smiled and left with Hermione.

They stopped at a picture of a woman on a balcony. "Here's your seprate entrance. You password is twinkletoes. And likewise, if you ever need anything, come to me." His eyes twinkled as he turned and walked back down the corridor. 

Hermione glimsped a movement by a suit of armour behind her, but when she turned to look she saw nothing.

She entered the room. It had three doors. One of them she had entered through. The second one, she found, led to a comlete private bathroom. The third opened on a hallway towards the Gryffindor common room. She walked down this hallway and through the door. It immediately locked behind her. The Headmaster had already given her the key for it.

"Hermione!" Ron and Harry looked up from a game of chess. "How did you get there?"

"Head Girl's room." She grinned at their surprised faces. "I have my own entrance." She walked over and looked at the board. As usual, Ron was obviously winning. Harry no longer had his queen, either rook, many pawns, and a bishop. Ron had lost a few pawns and a knight.

"Doing good, Harry." She laughed. He sighed.

"Ron, what's your secret? I've been playing for six years now, and I still haven't won a single game against you."

"Well, maybe you just suck." Hermione broke into peals of laughter. Harry glared at her.

"I can beat Hermione."

"Maybe she sucks too." That shut her up, and it was Ron and Harry's turn to laugh.

"Shut up you two. I'm going to bed." She got up and went back to the door she had come out of. She pulled the small key out of her robes and unlocked the door. Ron caled "Wait, Hermione!" but she shut the door firmly behind her. Ron walked over, but it had already locked.

He swore. "Why does she always get mad at me?"

"Because you suck." Harry and Ron started snickering again, and Ron won their chess game in three more moves. They got up and went to their dormitory.

Draco had followed Hermione and Dumbledore to the entrance of Hermione's room. It was only fair that if she knew where he was that he knew where she was. He also, completely on accident, had heard Hermione's password. He thought that might come in useful. As he walked back to his room, he barely noticed the admiring glances many girls sent his way.

The following morning, when they went down to breakfast, they received their schedules. Hermione was still taking Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, and Harry and Ron were still taking Divination. The only reason they continued taking it was because it was very funny to see Professor Trelawney react to everything that happened. 

Ever time she heard of something new, she closed her eyes as if mortally wounded. She would then whisper in a pained voice, "I had hoped what I had forseen would be proven false."

By now the whole class was in on the joke that Trelawney was a great big fraud. Even Parvati and Lavender had wisened up. They had become considerably more bearable, and Hermione had begun to actually spend time with them. She was also friends with Padma, Parvati's twin, who was much more into school than Parvati, the reason she was in Ravenclaw. They spwnt much time in the kibrary together, which was where they had met in the first place, doing a Potions essay.

Speaking of which, Double Potions was their first class of the day, along with Slytherins. Hermione was excited, but couldn't show it, especially when Ron groaned. "Double Potions! Snape and Malfoy will be murder!"

"Hopefully we'll be doing an interesting potion. Since we're seventh years we should be getting into very complicated things this year." Hermione's eyes shone.

Harry rolled his eyes. "As long as Snape doesn't hold us back because of Neville." They looked towards Neville. He was still just as clumsy as the first day at Hogwarts, nad Snape still ridiculed him just as much.

"Great! We don't have Divination till Thursday, Harry!" Ron exclaimed.

"I wonder who our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be this year? Figg went home after the Death Eater thing this summer…" Harry trailed off. There had been no new face at the staff table the previous night.

The warning bell rang and they hurried down to the dungeons for two hours of torture with Snape.

When they entered the room most of the Slytherins were already there, as were nost of the Gryffindors. The bell rang as they were sitting down. Neville rushed in and breathed a sigh of relief as he looked around and saw Snape had not entered yet. He quickly walked to the back and sat down next to Hermione.

Snape entered as usual, his black robes billowing and greasy hair gleaming in the torchlight. "This is your final year at Hogwarts." He glared around as if someone would contradict him. "Or, at least, for most of you this is your last year. For the rest of you, I suggest you pay close attention this year." His gaze lingered on Neville, who blushed and looked down at the table. Ron growled low in his throat. He hated it when Snape abused his authority to bully students. Hermione laid a calming hand on his arm.

"Get out your books. Today we will be researching the Jumbulus Potion. It is used to change the appearance of the world to the drinker. A variation of it is used as an illeal potion as a sort of psychedelic drug. Therefore be very careful as you make it, putting the exact amount of each ingrediant in as instructed." He looked hard at Neville, who was still looking down at the table. "Well, get to work!" Everyone rushed for their books, quills, and parchement. "I want two rolls of parchement on the potion, due next Wednesday." He swept behind his desk and sat down.

To Hermione this potion was old news. It was quite the opposite of the Polyjuice Potion the three of them had made in their second year in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She looked around at all the students diligently working under the sharp eye of Professor Snape. Her eyes suddenly met a pair of silver eyes, and she smiled. They winked back, and their mouth formed the words, "empty classroom, Charms corridor. 8 o'clock." She nodded and her eyes returned to her book, not seeing it. Her heart pounded excitedly and she struggled to keep her face calm.

The rest of the day passed in a whirlwind for Draco. He didn't notice what happened in any of his classes except Professor McGonagall snapping at him to pay attention. Dinner came and went, and at 7:45 he left his common room without anyone protesting.

Hermione walked quickly down the trick stairs that led to the Charms corridor from her room. She barely contained herself from breaking into a run/ she couldn't wait to see Draco. She opened the door to the forever deserted classroom very slowly, her breath coming in short gasps from the trip, and, she hated to admit, nerves. She closed the door behind her and turned around.

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Hey, this is a day earlier than promised, praise me, I am the goddess of typing! Yeah, whatever, you're saying. I left you in a little cliffhanger there, didn't I? Well, what do you think? I'm expecting lots of reviews, as this is **extremely** long and it took forever to type. I hope you're happy. And I noticed something. Did anyone notice I go off into background a lot? Like, I'll talk about something and give you background. Is that okay? Do you like it? I think it gives more depth to the story, but I wanna hear your opinion! PLZ R/R!!!!!! 


	9. Emotions

Hey! I am going to Arkansas for Thanksgiving on Tuesday, and getting back Sunday, so I won't be posting between that time, sorry! I'm sure I could write the rest of the story in the car though, so I just have to type it. It's such a long car ride! I'll try to get one more chappy up before I leave. As always, please read/review! I need reviews!

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Chapter 9: Emotions

A heavy weight slammed into her. Her breath was taken away as he pressed his lips to hers. He wrapped his arms around her, and the kiss became gentle. He eased her mouth open with his tongue, and her knees weakened with his touch. She was glad he was holding her tight, or she would have sunk to the floor.

Suddenly there was a loud rapping on the window. Hermione gasped and pulled away. She sighed. It was Draco's owl. He walked over and opened the window, and took the letter from her. His face clouded over, and his hands clenched to fists.

Hermione walked over. "What's wrong?" she asked tentatively.

"Nothing. Lucius." He threw the letter on a desk. "It's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." She picked up the letter and read it.

Dear Draco,

I am waiting to hear from you/ you have yet to respond to my letters. I trust you are getting them. If this is somehow being intercepted, I will word this carefully. He is waiting for you to accept. If you do not…well, you will. Reply to this, and it will be finished by Halloween.

Lucius

Hermione's eyes widened. "What does he mean? Who is waiting? And why do you want to talk to me about it?" She moved in front of him. His head was bowed, his eyes closed. She peered up into his face. "Draco?"

He took a shuddering breath. "He wants me to become a Death Eater." His voice wavered, the first time Hermione had ever heard it betray him. He always had control. 

She gasped. "But-you can't!"

He sighed and turned to look out the window. His hands dangled helplessly at his sides. "If I don't, they'll come after me. If I don't I will be disowned." He turned to face her. "Do you know what it's like to have to live up to that cruel reputation? I never did like Potter or Weasely, but partly because of Lucius. He ingrained in me before I could talk the importance of pure blood. The importance of wealth and power. And the importance of the Dark side. And I, as his only son, had no choice in the matter. So I accepted it." Hermione's eyes were understanding, sympathizing as best they could without having gone through the same.

"So why are you here with me? That changed your mind?" (A/N: this is what most of you have been waiting for!)

"Well, I admired you, for one. Everything came so easily to you. You were, and still are, practically a genius. I could never catch up. You were too smart. I was extremely envious. And I hated you for it."

"Did you really hate me?"

I think then, I did. Lucius' influence was still so strong. Mudbloods were bad. They disgraced the name of wizard. But then, you changed. You got prettier every year. I couldn't understand it. You were so good, pretty, smart, how could you disgrace anything? Lucius…was getting more violent. He…" Draco turned away, his voice tight. "He hit my mum. All the time. The Cruciatus curse as well."

Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, laying her head on his back. He pulled her around to his front. "I hate Lucius. So I set out for you, to spite him. He hated you. So I loved you. You were forbidden territory. But now I love you for who you are, not what." He leaned down and kissed her gently. She responded. Soon they were in a passionate kiss, Draco's hands buried in her curls, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. 

A thought struck Hermione. Draco had never denied he would become a Death Eater. She pulled away just enough to ask him, "Will you?"

"Will I what?" he looked into her eyes.

"Become a Death Eater."

"Never. I love you." She smiled as he enveloped her in another passionate kiss.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" a familiar voice pierced the silence of the classroom. They pulled away quickly. 

"Sir Nicholas! Oh, my gosh, _please_ don't tell anyone!" Hermione pleaded with the ghost.

"Now, now, no need to be worried. Your secret is safe with me. My job as Gryffindor ghost is to protect my students, and that includes keeping their secrets." Nearly Headless Nick winked at Hermione, and turned to look at Draco. "But an interesting choice, hmm, Ms. Granger? Any particular reason you're kissing a Slytherin whom you've despised for six years?"

"Well, er-I mean-um, S-sir Nicholas…" Draco watched in amusement as Hermione tried to explain herself to the ghost. She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Hmm….I see. Well, don't mind me, I'll be on my way then. Have a nice evening." He smiled and floated out of the room. Hermione slumped onto a desk.

"What's wrong? He said it was fine!" Draco looked concerned.

"I don't know. It just seemed…odd. Are we ever going to come clean with our friends?"

"I, for one, don't have any friends. No real ones anyway." He smiled grimly.

"You have me," Hermione said softly. She went over and hugged him. He gripped her hard. "I can't breathe, Draco!" she laughed as he slowly let go.

"Do you know how long it's been since someone simply hugged me?" he looked at her seriously. She shook her head. "My mother last hugged me when I was fourteen. You are the first person to hug me in three years." Hermione couldn't believe her ears. Never being shown affection? She would die! She hugged him more tightly. She knew she couldn't say anything to make him feel better. She simply held him.

It was enough. He pulled away and smiled at her. "So! We've had a few enlightenments this evening. I think it's time to go to bed." They walked to the door hand in hand, and pulled apart only after Draco had shut the classroom door. "I would walk you to your room, but…" she nodded as she understood what he was saying. They didn't want anyone finding out-yet.

Hermione snuggled down under her sheets. It had been a satisfying day, except for Ron. He always seemed to say just the right thing to get her mad. She knew he couldn't have possibly done it on purpose this time, so she decided to not be mad at him in the morning. With that decided, she rolled over and went to sleep.

Draco, however, tossed and turned that night. He had now promised Hermione he wouldn't become a Death Eater. However, how would it possibly work? He was probably safe here at Hogwarts, but what would he do next summer? And for the rest of his life? He couldn't hide forever. Maybe Potter would finally get the better of Voldemort on one of his run-ins with him. Draco knew he could never like Potter, but maybe he could root for him, be on the same side? That was when it hit him. He could become a spy! That would be a way to stay on both sides. He would make Lucius happy, without him knowing he was really working against him. Draco knew that eventually the Dark side would lose. Voldemort was just not getting the power and support he needed to rise like last time. The Death Eaters' numbers had dwindled, the giants refused to come back, and the dementors mysteriously remained at Azkaban.

Yes, by spying he could help the destruction of the Dark Lord come about quicker and then start his life with Hermione. The problem was getting everyone to agree. He supposed he should tell Hermione, and Dumbledore, since he was really the head of the movement against Voldemort. Draco grimaced at the thought of asking the muggle-lover to help. But he had said if he needed anything…it was almost as if he knew something was going on.

Draco's mind was too exhausted to contemplate this new thought. He couldn't think anymore. He rolled over and fell into a sleep interrupted my dreams about Lucius, Death Eaters, the Dark Lord, and a certain brunette named Hermione. 


	10. Decision

Wow, thanks for all the reviews. A lot of people say they like the story a lot, and just to let you know, I like you a lot! Ok, you probably wanna read the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own the peeps, JK Rowling does.

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Chapter 10: Decision

Hermione yawned and cracked an eye open. The clock read 6:30. She had 15 minutes to lie in bed. She smiled up at the hangings on her four-poster bed.

The painting swung open. She gasped and sat up. Draco entered the room, pulling the painting shut behind him. "Draco! How-how did you get- I mean, why-" she stuttered as he walked over to the bed. She quickly clambered out and wrapped her bathrobe around her. "How did you know my password?" she finally managed to get out. He grinned.

"Following people comes in handy. There's no telling what people might say when they think no one is around." Hermione gaped at him. "And the reason I'm here? I needed to talk to you. Alone. No possibility of interruption." He saw a couch in front of the fireplace and led her over to it. She sat down.

"What else could possibly have happened between 10:00 last night and 6:30 this morning?" Hermione looked suspicious.

Draco sighed. This was not going to be easy. He knew the risks of becoming a spy; if found out he would immediately be killed. But what other choice did he have?

Hermione was still waiting. He decided to just get it over with. "I decided to become a spy."

"You…what?" Hermione didn't believe she had heard him right.

"I want to be a spy." He repeated.

"Why?" she cried and jumped up off the couch. "What will you do? You could be killed!"

"I know, I know. Calm down. I still need to talk to Dumbledore. I don't know much. But I know I love you, and I couldn't be with you any other way." He spoke softly.

"Yes, you could. You could denounce Lucius." Hermione plopped back down on the couch. 

"No, I couldn't he would wonder why. He'd come after me. I'd have to go into hiding. It would never work."

Hermione looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Can I come with you?"

He knew she would ask that. "No. It's too dangerous. And if I'm to be a 'Death Eater' I can't be seen with you. As soon as the Dark Lord falls we can live happily ever after." He smiled at her. "Now, I have to go talk to Dumbledore, but I'll be at breakfast. I'll talk to you soon." He walked over to the entrance and turned. "By the way, my password is dracum piete." He smiled and disappeared into the corridor.

Draco took a deep breath. That had gone much better than he had hoped it would. Hermione had such faith in him. He only hoped the rest of them would. 

Draco knocked on the door to Dumbeldore's office. A faint voice called, "Come in."

He entered nervously, not knowing what the headmaster might think about his decision. He had brought some of Lucius' letters for backup.

Dumbeldore's kind blue eyes looked up. "Mr. Malfoy," he said, not sounding surprised. "Please sit down."

"Thank you, sir." Draco pulled out the chair across from the headmaster and sat.

"What did you want to see me for?" the mild eyes looked straight into his own. They knew something was wrong.

Well, sir…I came to ask you a question." Draco didn't really know how to start. He eventually just thrust the letters across the desk. "These might explain a few things." Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and reached for the letters. He scanned them quickly, then read a few of them more slowly.

The entire time, Draco sat across from him, nervously fidgeting in his chair. Dumbledore finally looked up. "What are you panning to do about this, Draco?" Dumbledore looked intently at the young man.

"I don't plan to comply, in the way he wishes at least. I wanted to volunteer to pass you information. I would become a Death Eater, and inform you of suspicious people or events that could happen. I know it's dangerous, but I don't want to lose…I don't want to become one of them, and I don't think I have the courage to denounce them fully." Draco waited for the headmaster to decide what to do about this sudden turn of events.

Albus Dumbledore smiled inwardly. He had been waiting for this decision to appear for the young man for a while now. He had hoped it would come to this, as his spies were few and far between, and none this close to Voldemort. It would be very helpful to have one right in his inner circle. He, of course, said none of this when he next opened his mouth. "Well, Mr. Malfoy, it seems you have thought this over quite well, and we could most definitely use your help. But I impress upon you what this means. You will be in danger at all times, and if you are found out there is no way for us to help you. You will most likely, in that case, die. You must keep your true status an absolute secret. If one wrong person gets ahold of your information, you will be compromised. Do you understand?" his blue eyes were sharp now and looked straight into Draco's silver ones. Draco looked straight back and nodded.

"Well, then." The headmaster was suddenly business-like. "You will need to reply to Lucius' latest letter and apologize for not replying earlier. Accept his offer of Halloween, as that day we will be having a Hogsmeade day and the school will be in disarray." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "I would like you to report straight to me when he replies, and please of course, inform me of any other events. _Any_ other events." He looked slightly amused. "That will be all." Draco got up to leave. When he put his hand on the doorknob, Dumbledore cleared his throat. Draco turned. "I want to congratulate you on your decision. It takes courage to take the right way and not the easy way." Draco smiled.

"Thank you, sir." He walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast, not really watching where he was going, deep in thought. He rounded a corner and ran smack into Potter and Weasely.

"Hey! Watch it!" Weasely said as he rubbed his head where it had hit Draco's.

Draco opened his mouth to send a nasty reply their way, then closed it. He so far had avoided Potter and Weasely, not knowing how to handle them on account of Hermione. He finally decided to ignore them and sailed away down the corridor, leaving a very confused Harry and Ron behind. 

"What was that all about?" Ron asked Harry, staring after Malfoy's retreating back.

"I have no idea." Harry was dumbstruck. Malfoy had just let a perfect opportunity to ridicule them pass without a peep. Could Hermione possibly be right? Could he be growing up? Harry was startled out of his thoughts by a voice coming quickly towards them.

"Harry! Ron! There you are! Where have you been? You weren't at breakfast." Hermione was walking towards them.

"We slept in." Ron grinned at her.

"Well, hurry up, or we'll be late for Herbology." She marched off down the hallway obviously expecting them to follow. They shrugged and did so.

The day went by without incident, Draco mouthing to Hermione again in Potions to meet him in the Charms room at 8 o'clock.

A little before 8, Hermione shut her Arithmancy book and stood up. Ron and Harry looked up from their Divination essays. "What?" Ron asked.

"I forgot something in the library. I'll be right back." She had already formulated this excuse earlier in the day.

As she walked the familiar path to the Charms room, she wondered what Dumbledore had said to Draco's suggestion. Draco had not seemed upset during the day. Hermione wondered if that meant the headmaster had accepted the idea or successfully talked Draco out of it. She didn't know which she preferred. _Well, I'll find that out soon enough_, she thought as she put her hand on the knob to the Charms classroom. 

Draco had been pacing the floor. He sincerely hoped he had made the right decision. He was extremely nervous, having just sent off Selias with his reply to Lucius' letter. When the knob turned, he jumped, not remembering why he was in the empty classroom. When Hermione entered, he knew he was going to tell her everything. She would never tell anyone. He had to start acting like a Death Eater, which meant, of course, they couldn't possibly tell anyone about their relationship. There would be too many awkward questions about why a Death Eater would have a muggle-born girlfriend. 

Which meant they had to be more careful than ever.

Hermione noticed the faraway look and distant "Hi, Hermione," she got and wondered if that was good.

"Draco? Come back to Planet Earth please!"

"What?" he gave her a very confused look, and she dismissed it with a wave of her hand and a "never mind."

"So what did Dumbledore say? Are you…?" Hermione's eyes searched his for any clue about the situation.

Draco sighed and nodded. "He thought it was a brilliant idea."

"That's wonderful! When do you start? Is it going to be dangerous? Well, that's a stupid question. Of course it's going to be dangerous!" Hermione's expression changed from joyful to worried.

"I already sent Selias with the reply to Lucius. I officially start on Halloween. Yes, it will be dangerous. Very. From both sides. I don't know who Dumbledore will tell, but no one must find out that he doesn't want to." At this Draco looked hard at Hermione. "I didn't tell him about you, but I think he knows something is going on. He doesn't miss much." Hermione whole-heartedly agreed with that. Draco proceeded to tell her what he had been thinking right before she came, all about how they had to be careful, etc.

"Draco…_Draco_…DRACO!" Hermione interrupted him mid-sentence. "Who do you honestly think I would tell? Harry and Ron wold kill me, Parvati, Lavender, and Padma would be scandalized, my parents don't care, and whom else would I tell? I know how to keep a secret."

Draco thought she had a good point so let it go. "Well, whatever, I just was, you know… _confirming_."

"Confirm no more. I know."

Draco stepped a little closer. His eyes softened. "That's right. You know." She smiled as he kissed her gently, slowly deepening the kiss, completely ignoring the clocks chiming 9. (A/N: I don't think there's a chiming clock at Hogwarts, but I just made one up, ok? Good.) Draco's hands framed her face, running through her hair and tracing the contours of her neck. His fingers paused at her neckline, and Hermione stiffened. The hands left her neckline and wrapped around her waist. He pulled away and held her in his arms. "Hermione."

"What?" she tried to sound innocent. She knew this would come eventually. It had to. It always did, and always would. Not that she knew from experience. When it came to guys, her only experience was magazines and friends' stories. Draco had actually been her first real kiss, and she wanted no other.

He now looked straight at her with those silver eyes of his. "Why do you go all stiff? Do you think I'll hurt you?" His question was innocent enough, but the answer…the answer was hard. 

"I'm just not ready. I had a few…run-ins with some men this summer, and I have to get them out of my head first."

Draco looked alarmed. "Were you hurt? Were you raped?"

"No, nothing that serious. Just unpleasant experiences. And some close calls." She shuddered, remembering the beach. (A/N: thanks lillieblaze for reminding me!)

Draco still looked concerned. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Just…just take it slow. I'll get over it soon." She smiled up at him with those deep chocolate eyes, and he smiled back and nodded.

"Ok." He checked his watch. "Oh, no, I still have homework to do! I have to go." She nodded and they walked out and to their respective rooms. 

"Hermione! Where have you been? You've been gone for way over and hour! I need help with this Transfiguration paper!" Ron whined to her when she stepped in the portrait hole.

"Ok, ok, Ron. I just got a little sidetracked, that's all."

"Oh, a little sidetracked, huh? You go get something from the library and it takes you almost two hours?"

"Ron, if you need help with your essay, I suggest you don't talk to me like that!" Hermione angrily stalked over to their table and picked up his parchment. _ He really does need help_, she though as she read it. "You'll have to start over, Ron, all of it's wrong." She spent the next two hours re-explaining everything that they had learned in Transfiguration the previous day. After Ron was well into his paper, Hermione sighed and got up from the table. Harry got up as well.

"Good night you guys, I'm going to bed." She walked over to her door, but before she could pull out the key Harry caught up and said, "Wait, Hermione."

"What, Harry?" the stress of the day was starting to get to Hermione, and she said this a little crueler than she meant to. "I'm sorry." She apologized as she realized this. "I'm just tired. What is it, Harry?"

"I was just wondering if anything was going on. You were gone a long time and we wondered if…anything was happening?" he said this tentatively, as if nervous she would snap at him as well.

Hermione sighed. She wished more than anything that she could tell Harry what was going on. It would come out eventually, that she knew, but she was worn to secrecy, so simply said," No. Like I said, you know me in the library." She smiled brightly at him. "Good night, Harry."

"'Night." He walked back over to Ron and gathered his things. The common room had slowly been emptying, and there were only a few older students left, yawning over homework delayed till the last minute.

Hermione flopped down on her four-poster bed and sighed heavily. It had been a really long day. As she drifted off to sleep, her last thoughts were of Draco.

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Wow, this ended up being really long! Well, r/r, as I always say! Thanks to all my loyal reviewers, I know you won't let me down! One more chappy until I go to Arkansas! It's a 14-hour car ride, so trust me, I think I'll get the story done in 28 hours there and back. Plus the time there. It is going to be boring! I wish I were going somewhere FUN for Thanksgiving…… 


	11. Lost

Yep, I just posted chapter 10 yesterday, but I wanted to get you another chappy before I leave because I have it written. So here's chapter 11, have fun! Last chapter for a week!

Disclaimer: I _still_ don't own Harry Potter and Company.

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Chapter 11: Lost

Nothing monumental happened in the next month or so. Quidditch practices started, so Harry, Ron, and Draco were occupied much of the time, as Harry and Draco were captains of their respective teams, and Ron was the Keeper for Gryffindor as well. This was the part of the year where Hermione spent a lot of time with the Patils and Lavender. Ginny sometimes joined them, but had her closer friends in the sixth year. 

Parvati and Lavender, while becoming much more bearable when it came to Divination, were as boy-crazy as anyone could get. At the moment Lavender was going out with Dean, and Parvati was going out with John Demsky, a Ravenclaw she had met through her sister. Padma, though just as pretty as Parvati (they were identical), was much more reserved, similar to Hermione, and let Parvati be the boy-crazy one in the family. She focused on schoolwork and hanging out with the girls. 

Hermione felt guilty many times when Parvati and Lavender tried pairing her up with various boys. She couldn't tell them the real reason she declined to their "match-making," opting to stick with Padma's excuse-boys were not that interesting at the moment. 

One day, the four of them were doing their homework in the library, since Padma was a Ravenclaw doing it in Gryffindor Tower was out of the question.

Parvati and Lavender were giggling and pointing out various boys they thought were cute. They stuck Hermione to one of them, ignoring her usual protests. Finally, Hermione, fed up with the whole thing, stormed out of the library, drawing a reproving glare from Madam Pince.

As she stalked down the corridor, not watching where she was going, she suddenly stopped and looked around. She was in a part of the castle she'd never been in before. She tried retracing her steps, but the castle's horrible tendency to move around thwarted her attempts. "This is just great," she mumbled to herself, and sat down against a wall. She looked hard at the corridor she was in, trying to remember if she had ever seen it before. She thought she would have, since it had only one door. She walked over to the door and opened it. The room was silver and gold. There was a large, king-sized four-poster bed on the other side of the room with green and scarlet hangings. Candles were all over the place and romantic music was playing softly. 

Hermione was very confused. She walked in the room and looked around. There was no one there. "Hello? Anyone here?" Nothing. She walked farther in. There was a crackling fire in the hearth. She scanned the walls, and saw a sign with some writing on it. She moved closer so she could read it. She realized a wardrobe was under it. The sign read: _Closet, bring me to my room. I will return soon_. "What does that mean?" Hermione wondered aloud, and jumped back. The wardrobe doors were opening. She looked in and saw her clothes. There was something behind them, too… she pushed her clothes aside and discovered….

"Hey! It's my room!" She walked through and into her room. When she turned around, there was nothing at the back of her closet but the wall. "Hmmm…that's strange. It must be one of those secret shortcuts, but where was that place?" Hermione walked out into the corridor off her room and absentmindedly made her way to the Great Hall. It was almost suppertime. She wanted to talk to Draco about his plans for the following day, because it was Halloween. She remembered him saying he was to start his spy work on Halloween. She wanted to ask him what that meant.

In the Great Hall, Draco was talking casually to Goyle and Crabbe. Hermione wondered that the two could carry on a civilized conversation. At that moment Draco looked up and caught her eye. She pointedly stared and then walked around the corner, obviously wanting him to follow.

"Excuse me. I just remembered something I have to do. I'll meet you at dinner." The two minions agreed and wandered off.

Draco strolled around the corner and caught sight of a classroom. Since Hermione was nowhere in sight, he thought she must be in there. He peered in to make sure no class was going on. Deserted. He knew she was there, though.

He entered, and she walked over. "I wanted to know what exactly you're doing tomorrow to start your work."

"Hello to you too. Don't I get a hug at least?" he grinned impishly at her and she swatted him lightly on the arm, but gave him a quick kiss.

"Well?" she looked expectantly up at him.

Draco loved Hermione's glances. She could look at him just right. He thought she must have perfected that look somewhere, I couldn't be natural, because it was too heart melting. He smiled lovingly at her. "I have to meet Lucius tomorrow. Don't worry," he added, noticing her troubled face, "I'm a very good actor. I'll handle it fine."

"Are you becoming a Death Eater tomorrow, too?" She had concern written all over her face.

He sighed. "Yes. I'll have to ask Lucius what I should do if we're called during school or a Quidditch match, or something else I won't be able to leave. Even Dumbledore couldn't excuse me for no reason."

"Don't worry." Hermione hugged him and looked up at his face from her place nestled in his arms. "You'll do just fine. Oh!" she exclaimed, just realizing something. "How do you hide the Mark on your arm?"

"Good question. I'll find that out too, I guess. Maybe then we can pinpoint Death Eaters by knowing how to see their Mark."

"Wouldn't they already know that from Snape?"

"I have no idea. We'll find out tomorrow. Don't worry if I'm late to the feast. I don't know how long it'll take.

Hermione sighed. "I still don't like this."

"It's the only way we can be together, without fear. The Dark Lord is bound to fall soon, then we can come clean with everyone."

"You're optimistic."

"I have to be. If I was pessimistic I probably wouldn't be here." She started to retort back, but he silenced her with a swift kiss.

They heard many voices coming towards the room. Without breaking the kiss, they moved out of sight of the door. 

"It must be suppertime," Hermione whispered against Draco's lips. She could feel him shrug his shoulders and pull her closer.

"Which means no one will be around to bother us." He moved his lips along her jaw, reaching the soft spot behind her ear, continuing down her neck. She brushed her hands down his arms, giving him goosebumps. He knew something would happen if they didn't stop soon. This was not the time, nor place.

With a monumental effort he overpowered his hormones and pulled away, breathing heavily. She smiled up at him, relieved he was the one to pull away first this time.

They separated without talking, sneaking out of the room and into the Great Hall, no one noticing them together in the rush of students waiting to eat.

Harry noticed Hermione slightly out of breath, he cheeks flushed, come in somewhat late. He thought nothing of it, figuring she had noticed her lateness in the library, and had run here. She confirmed this with a sheepish grin as they all sat down to eat.

So tomorrow is a Hogsmeade day, you two! Harry, do you know if…" Ron trailed off and looked meaningfully at his friend.

Both Harry and Hermione knew what he was talking about. Sirius, Harry's godfather, had taken to meeting them in Hogsmeade when he could, as his name had yet to be cleared with the capture of Wormtail.

Harry shook his head. "I'm not sure. He didn't send anything, but he's met us before without notice…"

Ginny entered the Great Hall at this time, and saw the open seat next to Hermione. She hurried towards them and sat down.

"Why are you so late, Ginny?" Ron asked, obviously changing the subject. Ginny was still not privy to the secret of Sirius Black. The threesome had decided to keep it that way, because Ginny was something of a talker. She might let something slip completely on accident.

"I was on a walk with Katie and Alyssa. We found some interesting plants" Katie and Alyssa were some of Ginny's sixth year friends who loved Herbology, "and lost track of the time. They stayed behind to study them some more. We'd never seen them, but Alyssa says they are very rare. I don't remember what they are, but they're used in Sleeping Draughts.

The boys lost interest, and soon Hermione did too, as Ginny went on and on about the plants. They left as quickly as they could, and escaped to the common room.

"Once she gets going, she talks forever!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Yeah. She used to be like that all the time. Then she had that obsession with you, Harry, so neither of you ever heard her talk much because she'd clam up whenever you were around. Now she can be herself around you." Ron grinned at Harry.

That evening they lounged around. No one felt like doing homework, and since they were going to Hogsmeade the next day they wouldn't have classes.

Hermione went to bed early, not knowing how late she'd be up the next night. She wanted to talk to Draco about what had happened during his first day as a spy.

Harry and Ron said good night early, as well. Hermione laid out her things for the next day and lay in her bed. She couldn't go to sleep right away. She was apprehensive for what would happen tomorrow. She reminded herself that Draco knew how to handle it and finally fell asleep. 

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just to let you know, the room WILL play a part later in the story. I had to find a neutral place that no one would find them in, if you know what I mean….hehehe. oh, and draco IS a virgin. He couldn't bring himself to do it with Pansy, and who can blame him? I'll work that in as well… r/r please! I am getting a lot of really great ones!


	12. Like Father, Unlike Son

Toto, I don't think we're in (ar)kansas anymore!

Good deduction, dorethy, because here I am, back with another chapter! Sorry it took so long, but I had a TON of homework today!

Oh, sorry if the room thing was cheesy. I couldn't think of anything better to do with it. but don't worry, it makes a grand return! (more than once…)

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Chapter 12: Like father, (un)like son

Everyone woke early the following morning. All the students from 3rd year and up were going to Hogsmeade. Hermione, as Head Girl, was supposed to be helping the teachers with making sure no one got let behind, and no one not allowed to go got out the door.

Draco was mysteriously missing, as he was supposed to be helping as well, but no one paid much attention to this. Hermione knew where he was and thought, _Good luck, Draco!_

Draco walked quickly out the front gates. Lucius had said he would meet him alittke ways down the road. No one seemed to notice the Head Boy was not where he was supposed to be. They were too excited for their Hogsmeade trip. Draco smirked to himslef. Their lives were so boring.

He looked around constantly for Lucius, but couldn't see him. Finally, he saw a motion off to the side in a stand of trees. He casually walked over, then disappeared inside with a glance around to make sure no one noticed.

"Draco! Where have you been? I said eleven o'clock sharp. It is 11:15. What kept yuou?" Lucius moved angrily out of the shadows.

"I had to get out of my duties as Head Boy. It took longer than I expected," Draco replied calmly.

"Fine. Come. We are going to the manor." He took an Apparating stance. Draco copied, and they suddenly weren't there. A light breeze blew through the trees.

They appeared in the parlor. Narcissa was sitting in an armchair near the fire, reading a book. She looked up.

"Hello, Mum." She smiled weakly at him, then quickly looked back down at her book. Her son would soon be no better than her husband. The Dark side wouls take over his mind and he would care for nothing but power. Like father, like son.

"Come, Draco. He is waiting." Lucius started out the door. Draco was surprised at the nerve of them. Voldemort had come here for his initiation?

His question was affirmed soon enough when Lucius led him to a roon they seldom used. It was dank and dark, with a cauldron bubbling in the middle, and a single torch the only source of light.

There he stood, the Dark Lord himself. He was just as Draco had seen him before, cold red eyes in slits, glaring at the bubbling potion. His white, waxy skin skin was an eerie green in the glow from the cauldron, and his abnormally long fingers fiddled with his wand.

He looked straight into Draco's eyes. "Ah, Draco. Wonderful to see you again." His cold, heartless voice rang out in the room. "No doubt Lucius had filled you in on much of the procedure." He looked at the elder Malfoy, and knew instantly that was not the case when he looked down at the stone floor. "Tsk, tsk, Lucius. Shirking your duties? Crucio!" he said the last word with his wand pointed at Lucius. He silently sank to the floor, twitching in pain. Draco stood by, watching coldly. He knew he could show no emotion in front of the Dark Lord. Besides, it was Lucius' fault. He deserved the pain.

Voldemort lowered his wand, and Lucius scrambled to his feet. Voldemort ignored him and turned to Draco. "Now then. I will fil you in on what will happen. Do you see that potion there?" Draco nodded. "This is no normal potion. I shall take some of it on my fingers, when it is done, and trace the Dark Mark on your arm. It may burn some. Not to worry. When it dries, it will disappear to most people. An ingredient in the potion makes certain that only people you want to see the Mark can see it. That is why the Death Eaters cannot be caught with the Mark on their arm, you see?" Draco nodded again.

"When I touch a Death Eater's Mark, you will feel a burn. You are to Apparate immediately to my side. I am sure you, being still at school, and Head Boy at that, will find this hard." Voldemort confirmed this by raising his eyebrows. Draco nodded once again.

"Sir, I have a question about that. What if I am in the middle of a class, or Quidditch match, or something similar where I can't get away? What should I do then?"

"Yes, excellent question. Since you are still in school, you are only an honorary Death Eater, coming whenever you possibly can. At the end of the school year, you will become a full-fledged Death Eater. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Well, let's get on with it." Lucius walked over to the cauldron and added a few last ingredients. The potion now truly glowed. Voldemort glided over and sniffed it. the potion bubbled. He smiled maliciously, and dipped a finger in it. he motioned Draco closer. He took a deep breath and obeyed.

The Dark Lord gripped Draco's arm and pulled his finger out of the cauldron. He laid it on Draco's arm, and Draco gritted his teeth. It did burn. Voldemort traced a quick pattern, then dipped his finger in again to refine and detail it. "Don't let anything thouch it for an hour. If you feel it burn and are at all able to come, you must. If you absolutely may not, touch it and whisper, "namariae" and I will get the message. Well, that's all. You may go." His slit red eyes narrowed, and Draco nowed before leaving. He could barely get the word "Master" out, aand hoped they thought it was only from excitement.

He exited quickly, and Lucius swept out behind him. They felt a slight breeze as Voldemort Disapparated behind them.

"Good job, son. I knew you would follow our noble family line in good decisions." Lucius was relieved his son had chosen the correct path, after his little runaway act that past August.

Draco didn't reply. They walked in silence throught the stoney hall toward the front of the manor. When they got there, Draco realized it was barely two o'clock. He wouldn't be late for the feast after all.

Lucius turned to him before he had a chance to Disapparate. "Draco, a little advice. If you can at all make an excuse to leave for a Death Eater meeting, do. The Dark Lord looks well on loyalty, and not well on laziness and poor excuses. Do all you can for him, and he might reward you. He knows a lot more than you think he does." Draco looked into his father's eyes, so like his own, yet so different. They were never warm, always as cold as frozen stone. His father was going nowhere. He was stuck in a lost cause; he couldn't escape this time.

Draco said nothing, just nodded and silently Disapparated. He appeared in the same grove of trees he had left. Afer making sure no one was watching, he strolled out and sauntered back down the road to Hogwarts.

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I know it was short, but it seemed like a good spot to end, don't you think? Lol. So, read and review, no one likes a hit-and-run reader! 

Susie-chan- trust me. You would be amazed at how long people (yes, me) can babble on for. Its really quite funny.

Dracoluva- yes, I read your story. Great! Cant wait for the next chappy! Please update! I thought I reviewed, but guess not. Its really good!

Hermione18- cant promise you anything. I think I have an idea with someone dying…and who said lucius and voldie would die anyway? 


	13. I Need to Talk to Her

Hey! I didn't get very many reviews for the last chapter…but im gonna post this anyway. If you read it and didn't review, shame, shame, shame on you! (hey, that rhymes!)

Ok, blahblahblah, heres the next chappy.

Disclaimer: like I said a million times already, don't own the peeps.

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Chapter 13: I Need to Talk to Her

Hermione didn't have much fun that day. She was too worried about Draco. She knew she would hear if something had gone wrong, and if it hadn't then she'd see him at the feast, but she was so anxious she spilled her butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks.

"Hermione, what is the matter with you?" Ron finally burst out. "You've been acting all day like you've seen the Grim!" 

This reminded Harry that perhaps Sirius was waiting for them. "Hey, come on you guys. Snuffles could be here! Let's go look for him." They headed out to the turnstile outside the village.

There, indeed, sat a big black dog waiting patiently, with a few newspapers in its mouth. Harry knew that Dumbledore told Sirius whenever a Hogsmeade weekend was. The dog wagged its tail at the sight of them, and they set off into the mountains, to their usual meeting place. There, Sirius transformed back into his human form.

"Hi, Sirius!" Harry, tall, gangly seventeen-year-od that he was, was still so happy to see his godfather that he ran over and threw his arms around him.

"Hello, Harry," Sirius laughed, and returned the hug. "You've sprouted up quite a bit lately!" he turned to Ron and Hermione. "So have you two." His eyes twinkled at Hermione, and she threw up her hands and groaned. The boys laughed.

"You three are so immature!" but she grinned bashfully.

Sirius became serious. "There have been a lot of things happening, kids." He was interrupted by Harry.

"Hey! We aren't kids anymore!"

"You are to me." He ruffled Harry's hair. They all laughed, because he had to reach slightly up. "Anyway, a lot has happened lately. The Death Eaters have become much bolder, even as they lose ground. Dumbledore has some new spys," Hermione tried to keep any expression from her face at this, "who will help immensely. I am not at liberty, of course, to tell you who they are. I am suspicious of one of them, but we must trust Dumbledore's judgement."

"Is it someone we know?" Harry asked.

"I-can't say, sorry."

"Oh. So," Harry searched for a new topic, "are you going to come watch our Quidditch game next weekend?"

"Sure! I don't have to be anywhere for a few weeks." Sirius smiled.

"Great!"

"Ok, you three should probably go soon or you'll miss the feast. I'll see you next weekend, but I won't be able to talk. Stay out of trouble!" He turned into a dog and accompanied them back to the village. 

Hermione's nervousness returned as they walked into the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. The decorations were wonderful, as usual, but she barely paid attention to them, until she saw Draco sitting at the Slytherin table between Crabbe and Goyle. She breathed a sigh of relief when he winked at her. She looked up as the usual cloud of bats swooped low over her head. She quickly hurried to catch up with Harry and Ron.

They had a wonderful time at the feast, laughing and talking with Dean, Seamus, Parvati and Lavender. Ron had been quite taken with Parvati's sister for over a year, but was too shy to say anything. Parvati had somehow found this out, and teased Ron throughout the meal. He blushed redder and redder until he finally shouted at Parvati to lay off. That was somewhat awkward, but the rest of them quickly filled the silence and eventually Parvati and Ron joined back into the conversation, though they were somewhat frosty to each other.

Hermione was laughing at one of Ron's jokes on the way to their dorms when Draco walked up. "What'd'you want, Malfoy?" Ron asked nastily.

"I need to talk to her." He nodded at Hermione. "Head Boy and Girl stuff." He made a sneering face, and Hermione had to agree that he was a very good actor. She walked silently after him as he led the way down the corridor, back towards the Great Hall. As soon as they turned the corner he looked around and pulled her into the same classroom as yesterday.

"So, what happened?" Hermione asked him after a quick kiss. Draco held out his arm. The Dark Mark was there. Hermione sucked her breath in. it looked very wrong on Draco's pale skin. "How do you hide it?" she asked him.

"Only people I want to see it can see it. part of the ingredients." He grimaced. She reached up and caressed his cheek. She knew he didn't want it.

he looked into her deep choclate eyes and saw love. She loved him. Really loved him. She didn't say it just to get something from him. He was truly moved by this. No one had ever looked at him that way before. He leaned down and watched her eyes close as he kissed her. He felt her arms around him, supporting him. He stroked her hair, content that she was simply there, loving him.

Hermione sighed and leaned her head against Draco's chest. He was so warm and comforting. She wanted to just stay here with him forever, in his arms, his hands caressing her face and hair.

She felt something wet drop on her head. She looked up in surprise to see Draco's eyes closed and his tears flowing freely. "Draco, what's wrong?" Hermione was nervous. Did something happen that he hadn't told her about?

"You. I don't deserve you," he said hoarsely as he looked down at her. 

"Of course you do! I don't deserve you! You're so sweet and compassionate, and so brave. I would never be able to do what you're doing. I'd be too scared." She gave him a bright smile.

Draco smiled back, tears gone. "I'm really not that brave. I didn't have much choice in the matter." Hermione shook her head but left it at that. She pulled his head down again, but right before their lips met, she whispered, "I don't care. I still love you." Draco smiled as their tongues met. 

Fifteen minutes later, Hermion was walking back to her room, practically skipping. Draco had said everything was going according to plan. He had to go report to Dumbledore.

When she got to her room, she told the woman on the balcony her password and entered, thinking about Draco.

"Hermione!" she jumped three feet in the air. Harry and Ron sat on her couch.

"What are you doing here? And how did you get my password?" she asked sternly.

"Well, um, see-"

"Harry asked Parvati. Said he needed to talk to you." Ron laughed and winked. Hermione groaned. She had told Parvati and Lavender her password inder the vow that they wouldn't tell anyone.

"I didn't _try_ to make it sound like that!" Harry protested.

"But you didn't try to fix it either, when Parvati winked and told you." Ron turned to Hermione. "Then she asked for information!" He grimaced. Hermine laughed. She'd set Parvati right tomorrow. On second thought, maybe she wouldn't… If Harry wanted to, she wouldn't stop him, but amybe it's be fun to pretend… But if Draco heard, he'd be mad. Especially since she told him to wait. 

"Hermione!" She jerked out of her thoughts. "What?"

"We were asking what Malfoy wanted," Harry repeated.

"Oh, just Head Boy and Girl stuff. Boring to you two. Passwords and such." She smiled and they gradually changed the subject to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Soon Hermione looked at the time and told the boys she wanted to get ready for bed.

"Go ahead. We won't stop you." Harry ducked as she aimed a slap at him. Ron was still chuckling as they left. Hermione flopped onto her bed. Draco….

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ok, read/review! I didn't get very many reviews yet for the previous chapter, so I want lots for this one! Reviews are really, really nice! Suggestions, comments, questions? Just click the little button below!


	14. Big Night

Hey! Chapter 14 up! Sorry I havent been updating as much lately, but I've had a lot of homework, and everyone wants to use the computer, and I'm also writing another story, Stepping Over Lines. It's HG/SS, I've finished it, but still have to type it. it confuses me, cuz I still cant figure out if they're in love or not….but what am I going on about it here for??? This is a different story!!!! Well, anyway…..chapter 14.

Thanks to skylar malfoy and sanaria for being the only reviewers so far for the last chapter. Come on, people, lets get some reviews here!

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to tell you: I don't own these stupid people!!!!!! JK Rowling is the queen of the universe and I will never be able to write like her, so don't think I am her, or claim to be!

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Chapter 14: Big Night

The next week flew past. Before they knew it, it was the morning of the first Quidditch match. It was Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff.

Hermione watched with Parvati and Lavender. Harry was having a little trouble keeping his broom steady, because though it was clear and sunny, the wind was blowing in mighty gusts.

But if Harry was having a little trouble, it was nothing compared to what the other players were having. None of the Hufflepuffs had any better than a Nimbus 2000, and only two Gryffindors had Nimbus 2001s. One had a Windwing 20, which was an obscure broom company based in Zimbabwe, though the brooms they made were very good and also very expensive.

Be that as it may, Harry caught the snitch in a little over an hour. He went into a spectacular dive and pulled up inches from the ground with the snitch clasped firmly in his hand. The final score was 20 to 200. 

The Gryffindors cheered and filed out of the stands to congratulate their team. Harry grinned bashfully as people clapped him on the back and yelled congratulations. Hermione was very glad he was extremely modest, or he would have had a full-blown ego years ago.

Hermione was pushed along with the crowd of her Housemates towards their Common Room. There she struggled over to Harry and Ron and hugged them both. "Congratulations, you guys!" she beamed at them.

Parvato and Lavender "aww"ed when she hugged Harry. Apparently, he hadn't set them straight either.

"Now see here, you two. There's nothing going on between Harry and me, and that's the truth." But for all the good it did her she might have been talking to two canaries.

Which actually happened to be the case. Dean and Seamus roared with laughter as the two girls molted. When they reappeared, they were flushed bright red at having been slipped Canray Cremes, which they had been avoiding since 4th year.

Hermione repeated her statement, but the other girls just stalked after the culprits of their humiliation. Dean and Seamus cried out in mock terror as Parvati and Lavender chased them around the room, shouting threats and occasionally a spell, which would ricochet off the wall and hit someone if they didn't move out of the way quickly enough.

Things were getting very loud and noisy indeed, so much in fact, that McGonagall came in and told them all off. Hermioen tried to restore order after McGonagall left, and finally managed, with the help of Harry and Ron, to get most of the kids up the stairs to their dorms. Seamus and Dean cowered in opposite corners, but Lavender and Parvati slumped in armchaors, fanning themsleves and wiping sweat off their faces.

Harry and Ron pulled Seamus and Dean quickly past the still angry girls, and they, with one last glare at the boys, made their way to their own room.

Hermione wearily unlocked her room and walked down the short corridor to the bedchamber. She slumped on the couch. What a night!

"Big night, eh?" she jumped and looked around. Her eyes fell on the armchair.

"Draco, don't _do_ that! You almost scared me to death!" she held a hand to her chest, trying to slow her breathing. He got up smoothly and sauntered over. He sat next to her and looked at her drooping eyes and sweaty brow.

"You didn't answer." He waited.

"I thought it was a rhetorical question, but yes, very busy. Parvati and Lavender got turned into canaries and spent two hourse chasing Dean and Seamus around the Common Room." She smiled at the memory. It really had been quite funny.

"Big night for me, too. I was called." Hermione immediately looked up.

"Called? You-Know-Who called you?" Her voice wavered. "Did you-did you-kill anyone?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"Draco shook his head. "Naw, I left that to the others. They seemed so anxious to, I let them." Hermione swallowed. He seemed emotionless. It scared her.

"Draco, are you okay? You don't sound like yourself."

"Oh, yeah. I'm just still in that frame of mind of 'nothing affects me' to stop them from seeing anything." Hermione leaned over and kissed him sweetly and gently.

"Different state of mind now?" she smiled at him.

"Yes, completely altogether." He smiled impishly at her and pulled her into his lap. She laughed. 

Draco silenced her with a kiss. She returned it whole-heartedly. He trailed a string of kisses down her neck, licking her ear. She brushed her fingers through his hair and gripped it as he lay her slowly down on the couch. _Uh-oh_, she thought. "Draco," she whispered. It was all she needed to. He sighed and picked her up, plopping her back in his lap and wrapping his arms tightly around her. She leaned her head against his chest and he breathed in the scent of her hair. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Draco shook his head and breathed deeply. Her auburn curls smelled like vanilla. "It's alright. Shhhh."

Hermione silently cursed to herself. She had almost ruined another time with Draco. It was onlu his loving understandment that stopped everything from becoming a fight. She had no idea why she kept pulling away from him. She loved him, didn't she? And it wasn't like she had vowed to stay a virgin or anything. 

"You're scared." It was like he could read her mind. He knew exactly what she was thinking about. 

"How in the world did you know what I was thinking, not to mention the answer?" she asked him, surprised.

"It's pretty obvious. You aren't listening to a word I'm saying and are really stiff." She realized this was true, and relaxed back into his arms.

"You're scared," he repeated. "You have every right to be. I would be too if someone kept asking me." 

Something he meant but didn't say clicked in Hermione's head. "You aren't saying-you're still a virgin, too?" Hermione looked at him, disbelieving.

"Of course. You thought I would do that with Pansy the Pug?" (thanks sushie-chan!)

"Well…you have a point there. I just didn't think…you seem so…d'you know what I'm saying?" she twisted around to look at him.

"You thought I was much father along than you because I seem so experienced and always know what to do?" He grinned.

"Exactly."

"My dear Hermione, allow me to let you in on a little secret: it is in men's nature to know these things. It's instinct."

"Well, that explains a lot." She rolled her eyes, thinking of Fred and George in the Leaky Cauldron that summer.

"Now, don't go blabbing nature's secrets to just anyone!" he said cheerfully, and set her on her feet. She yawned. "It looks like you're ready for bed." He smiled at her and headed to the door. "Sweet dreams," he called back through the closing portrait. 

She smiled and pulled out her nightclothes. 

Draco's thoughts drifted idly as he wandered the halls, amking his way (so he thought) to his room. Suddenly he looked around and realized he didn't know where he was. This was odd, since he knew almost all of the castle by heart. He looked in the only door in the corridor, but couldn't see anything through the tiny window.

Draco opened the door and walked inside. The room was lit wit hhundreds of romantic candles. There was a merry fire crackling in the fireplace, and a few chairs and couchs sat in front of it. opposite him, there was a huge bed with hangings of scarlet and green.

"Hello?" is anyone here?" He peered around, but no one answered. His eye caught sight of a wardrobe and he walked over to it for lack of a better thing to do. He dodged a table set for two and walked up to the wardrobe. There was a sign above it. draco read it aloud. "Closet, take me to my room. I will return soon." He made a questioning face. "What the hell does that mean?" as he asked this, however, the wardrobe doors opened. He looked inside warily. Bhind clothes that looked strangely like his own, he saw…

"Hey! That's my room!" He walked through to his room and looked around. He turned just in time to see the wardrobe close behind him. He shook his head. _That was just plain weird._

On the opposite side of the castle, a particular headmaster smiled to himself as he thought, _It's only a matter of time, now…_

The next morning Hermioen woke up around eleven. She walked into the Common Room to see very few people up and about. Around noon Harry and Ron staggered downstairs, followed closely by the rest of their dormmates.

"Good morning!" Hermione beamed at them. Harry managed a "good morning" back, but Ron just grunted. They threw themselves down on various couches near Hermione's chair.

They spent the day finishing homework, playing games, and going to the kitchen for snacks. Hermione kept thinking about the previous night. Was she really scared? And of what? Draco? What might happen? Hermione shuddered at this thought and immeditealy made a note to herslef to get a pregnancy ward soon. Her parents would die or horror if that happened to her.

Draco spent the day reading up on a particular Aritmancy subject. He found it fascinating, and oddly comforting. It reminded him of Hermione, since this was also her favorite subject.

The days passed quietly for most fo Hogwarts. There were no three-headed dogs, snakes, escaped convicts, or busybody reporters this year. The rest of the wizarding world seemed far removed, at least to many.

For Draco, that was, sadly, not the case. His callings were becoming more and more frequent, at least once a week. He was becoming more confident in his abilities after helping catch a couple Death Eaters on a raid. However, it was far from fun. He had to endure showing no emotion as Voldemort and his followers tortured, killed, and terrorized muggles constantly. He would watch, pretneding to participate, all the time in great anguish as he imagined the pain their victims and their families were going through. He strengthened his resolve to bring down the Dark side.

Hermione wept hearing his accounts of the exploits. She imagined all the people she knew, her family and friends, having to go through that. It ripped her heart out. Many an evening the two would sit together, talking about it, until Hermione broke down so often Draco stopped telling her. He instead talked about books and homework, and Hermioen was glad for the change to a safe subject. She had tried to explain away her constantly red eyes to Harry and Ron as mood swings. They had seemed to accept it, but Hermione's sadness continued.

The more Draco talked with Hermione, the more he saw she was so much more than a pretty face. She had a wonderful personality and a brilliant mind that was very quick in their frequent bantering. 

And the more Hermioen talked with Draco, the more she realized what a wonderfully caring person he could be. He was considerate and loving, and very smart. She loved his great sense of humor.

All in all, it had been a pretty good year so far, Hermione thought one day as she silently slipped in the portrait of the soldier. It was only a few weeks until Christmas, and Hermione needed to finish her Christmas shopping.

"What do you want for Christmas, Draco?" she asked him as he greeted her. She came and sat down next to him. 

"Hmmm….let me think." He scrunched up his forehead. "I don't know."

"Well, what do you want most of all, in all the world? If you could say anything you want, what would it be?" Draco laughed as he turned to Hermione. "What? What is it?"

He looked at her, a mischvious smile on his face, and said, "You."

She blushed and laughed. "No, I'm serious!" she looked expectantly at him.

"So am i. I want you." His eyes twinkled. It had an amazing effect on the rest of his face. He looked like a little boy.

"But you already have me! Look, I'm sitting right next to you!"

"But I want you." Hermione finally understood what he meant, and blushed crimson.

"Well, what else do you want?" Draco inwardly sighed. She avoided the subject. He gave her some answer he couldn't remember, them asked her. She wanted some book or something. He already knew what he was getting her.

It was time for supper so they left and Hermione walked ahead quickly to make it look like she had come from her room.

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ok, now you HAVE to review. Click the little button, it takes 1 minute! I had a total breakthrough Friday night on a twist to the story, and I stayed up until 1 pefecting it, so I tried to insert something in here to let it leak through alittle, because it was after I wrote this chapter… anyway, review! 


	15. Hogsmeade

Wow, lots of reviews! Thanx! I'm gonna thank u each personally. Its something I don't usually do, but what the heck!

Thanks to:

Skylar malfoy: thanks for reviewing all the time, please keep doing it! luv u for it!

Sanaria: next review say what u think im writing…I wanna see if ur right. And u r right, it's a very big step….one that will-o dear, I almost gave it away.

Notsureyet: love the name, welcome to the club!

Abby: hey, thanks for reviewing!

Ozze: awesome! My first everytime reviewer! Im so happy…. Ill dedicate something to u!

Ithilwen mirtirne: sorry, I actually am not that great at writing dirty scenes….i let u imagine _some_ of it for urself….. and remember, even when it gets dirty, its not _that_ dirty, cuz Hermione is an innocent, remember? And Draco's a virgin too…..

Genny: thanks for the review!

Cheerprincess: thanks for the suggestions!

Hermione18: Thanks so much! U have been 1 of my most loyal reviewers!

Tigababie: hey, sorry, but I do the same thing in this chappy! Sorry, but it makes u come back n read it, doesn't it?

Oh, I wanted to know if anyone wanted to be a beta reader for me. I never had one, but I think it would help. So if you do, just put it in your review, and I'll contact you, but you have to put your email address in there too, okay? Right.

Okay, so…..chapter 15! Here it is!!!!

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Chapter 15: Hogsmeade 

On the last day before the holidays, there was another Hogsmeade trip. Hermione arranged with Draco to meet at three o'clock at the Three Broomsticks. They brought some papers as alibis for being together, in case anyone wondered.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked Hermione when she excused herself from the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shop at quarter to three.

"I have to do some last minute papers before the break. I'll meet you at the Three Broomsticks at four."

"Papers? Today? It's the holidays, Hermione!" she gave him a Look, and he mumbled, "ok, four o'clock."

Hermione walked into the pub at exactly three. She looked around for Draco, and saw him in an unobtrusive corner, that no one would notice unless they were looking for it. She walked over and sat down in the chair across from him.

Draco thought Hermione looked very pretty. Her cheeks were flushed with cold, and little snowflakes were melting in her hair. Her eyes were bright. Draco waved over Madame Rosemerta and ordered two butterbeers. He pulled out his sheaf of papers. "So."

"So what?" Hermione retorted quickly, eyes twinkling.

"So we're both staying for Christmas…" he trailed off, obviously meaning something.

"So are Harry and Ron. Your point?" She liked playing games with him. It was fun to get him angry, because his eyes would twinkle and flash and his hair would fall in his face. Then she could kiss him to make up.

Draco knew she was playing. He didn't mind. He thought of it as a battle of wits, and he enjoyed having them with her, because she was the first and only person who could match, and occasionally beat, him. "My point? I think it is obvious." He raised his eyebrows at her.

"And what might it be?" she kept her voice innocent.

"You…and me…are the Head Girl and Boy, and two of a very few number of students staying at Hogwarts this year for Christmas. We therefore will have almost no responsibilities, yet the trust of teachers and freedom to do whatever we want…" he trailed off again and waited for her to pick up the game.

Hermione, however, was very serious now. She knew what he was talking about. She also knew she had been avoiding the subject. He was always hinting at her, but never would force her; she knew that as well as she knew the sky was blue. She had to come to a decision soon, though. That beach incident was so long ago…did she really want to restrict her relationship for it?

Draco was still looking at her, his eyes now serious as well. Hermione helplessly shook her head. Draco's eyes hardened for a second, as if on instinct, then immediately softened. He reached over and stroked her hand for just a second. She smiled at him with tears in her eyes.

"Now, don't cry. I can't stand it when girls cry over me," Draco drawled in his best rich-handsome-kid voice. Hermione couldn't help laughing. He always knew just how to cheer her up, no magic required.

Hermione looked around the pub and sighed. This would be her last Christmas here. She could surely come back, but it would never be the same.

She saw Harry and Ron come in the door, a gust of wind-blown snow coming in with them. Was it already four o'clock? She checked her watch to make sure.

Draco watched Hermione check her watch and look at him apologetically. _Oh, well_, he sighed. _We'll have plenty of time over the holidays._

"I told Harry and Ron to meet me at four…" she started explaining, then stopped when he waved a hand.

"I understand. Go on, I'll see you tomorrow. With a last smile she got up and walked quickly over to Harry and Ron. Draco watched as they questioned her, then seemed satisfied. He got up to leave, and met Crabbe and Goyle in Honeyduke's. They were staying for the holidays as well, but Draco knew he would have no problem shaking them off. They had been thoroughly obedient to his every whim ever since he had become a Death Eater. There really was a silver lining to every cloud…

Hermione, Harry, and Ron were talking earnestly about what to do over the break. Ron and Harry wanted to make up and practice some new Quidditch strategies. Hermione said that was fine with her, she could hang out with Ginny, since the Patils and Lavender were all going home over Christmas. Little did the boys know that Ginny's two plant friends were staying at Hogwarts as well, and the three of them were going to be helping Professor Sprout with a few tricky procedures in the greenhouses. They had offered her a chance to help, but she politely declined, remembering last time Ginny was involved with plants. She didn't want her ears talked off, thank you very much.

At the feast that night, everyone had fun. There were wonderful new sweets, and food everywhere you turned. Parvati, Padma, and Lavender said good-bye that evening, since they were leaving early in the morning when no one else would be up yet. Hermione went to sleep full, exhausted, and satisfied.

The next few days flew by. Hermione was caught in a whirlwind of Harry, Ron, Draco, and Ginny. Ginny, it seemed, did not want to spend all her time in the greenhouses, and begged Hermione to do stuff. Harry and Ron quickly found they could plan strategies for Quidditch all they wanted, but with only three players present (a fourth-year Chaser, besides them) it was very hard to practice them. They soon gave up.

Then there was Draco. He did not seek her out or initiate anything. She wondered if she had done something to make him mad, but when she asked him, he dismissed it. She knew he was preoccupied with something, and it was only a matter of time before he told her. After all, she was really the only person who knew everything that was going on in his life, or at least almost everything.

Hermione made one last trip to Hogsmeade on December 20th. When Ginny asked if she wanted a companion, Hermione answered, "Well, I would, but I can't. I have some last minute presents to get." This was true. She needed something for Draco. She so far hadn't found a single thing that she thought suited him. She wanted it to be special.

As Hermione walked through the streets of Hogsmeade, she glanced at the shops, wondering which one would sell anything of interest. What had he said he wanted? She couldn't remember. All she could remember was "you." Hermione stopped dead in front of a particular store. A thought struck her. She rushed into the store and half and hour later came out with a box in her hand. She stopped in one more store, and soon added another box to the first.

Hermione went straight to her room when she returned to the castle. She quickly wrapped the second box. The other she slid under her bed, to be seen in five days.

Later that evening she was to meet Draco in his room. She read her Arithmancy book until then. After a while, she checked her watch. It was 8:15! She was late already, and she still had to get there! She threw the book onto her table and raced out of the room, slamming the portrait behind her so hard the balcony woman yelled after her that she'd need new hinges for that. Hermione paid her no heed as she raced the now-familiar pathway down to the dungeons. She was running so fast she ran straight past the picture, and had to backtrack.

"Piete dracum," she gasped, clutching a stitch in her side. The swordsman looked amused as he swung open.

"Where the bloody hell have you been? I thought we were meeting at 8!" Draco's voice wafted through the hole as Hermione walked through, her breath still coming in short gasps.

"I lost tract of time-reading a book." She looked up into Draco's eyes. They flashed angrily. Hermione hid a small smile when she saw how cute he was when he was mad.

"Oh, so a book's more important than us, eh? Fine, go read your book!" he stormed over and sat, hard, on the couch.

Draco didn't know why he was overreacting so much. He knew it definitely didn't help anyone's temper or state of mind. He looked up in surprise when he saw Hermione's feet in front of him. Her hands were propped on her hips and her eyes were a sharp cinnamon now, not the deep chocolate they usually were. He could almost hear the fire snapping in them.

"I'm not the only one who's got something else going on! You have to tell me what the bloody hell is going on with you! You haven't been yourself for days, but you haven't seen me snapping at you for it! You have to tell someone what's going on, because it's obvious something is wrong!" Draco watched as her eyes crackled and blazed, and thought _She's extra-cute when she's mad._

He sighed. She was right, he should have told her sooner. "Ok, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But do you really want to know?" Hermione nodded, her anger fading. She let her arms drop and sat down next to Draco when he motioned.

"Lucius put my mother under the Imperius Curse. He said she was on the verge of confessing everything, and he couldn't let her ruin her life. He never mentioned his own, though we both know that's the only thing he really cares about." Draco gave Hermione a wry smile.

"Oh, Draco…" Hermione's face fell and she leaned over and hugged him tightly. He breathed a sigh of relief for telling someone, and relaxed as she slowly stroked his hair.

They sat like that for some time until Draco straightened. "So, what did you get me for Christmas?" he grinned at her.

Hermione allowed the subject to change to a happier one. "I can't tell you, of course! But you'll like it. That I can promise." She gave no hint with her body language as to what it might be. "What did you get me?"

"Now, how could I tell you that if you won't reciprocate? Nope, not telling." He pretended to zip his lips closed. Hermione laughed.

"Alright, that seems fair." They sat in a comfortable silence, each thinking to themselves, about completely different things. Hermione snuggled up to Draco's shoulder and he put his arm around her. She curled up and yawned. 

As Draco thought he absently brushed his fingers through Hermione's hair. He thought of the night two weeks ago, at his last Death Eater revel. They had killed three muggles. It made Draco sick to think of the many families ruined by the careless, thoughtless, ignorant and malicious actions of a small group of wizards. It was why he had no family anymore, even though the group had never meant their targets to be their own families.

Draco suddenly looked down at the warmth on his shoulder. Hermione's eyes were closed in peaceful oblivion to the world. He yawned. Maybe he wouldn't wake her up….but he probably should. They didn't want her to be reported missing or anything. Draco reluctantly leaned over and whispered, "Hermione, wake up."

"What?" Hermione sat up and looked around. "Oh my gosh! Did I go to sleep?" she looked sheepishly at Draco. "Sorry about that. Guess I'm a little tired. I should probably head to bed." She got up, and so did he. 

He walked her to the portrait hole and gave her a quick kiss. "Thanks." He looked into her eyes, now back to their normal chocolate hue.

"No problem. Love you." She gave him another, lingering kiss, and opened the swordsman's portrait. "Bye."

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okay, so what did they get each other? And what's the thing in the other box? You find out in…the next chapter! Actually, I don't think you find out what the other thing is until…chapter 17! Okay, I've already written up to nineteen, so I'm gonna post another one soon, like today, too. Yup, I am. You guys are so lucky! Remember to review!!!!!!


	16. Presents

Yep! Another chapter, just like I promised!

I'm home from school today, sick, so I decided to use my run of the house to get you guys caught up with my writing. I've written so much, I need to type it. by the way, I'm still looking for a beta reader, but since I only put the notice up a few hours ago, its not too surprising.

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Chapter 16: Presents

Christmas morning dawned brightly. Even the sun seemed to realize today was a special day. Hermione yawned and streched as a ray of sun crept over her face. She cracked an eye open, then remembered: it was Christmas! She threw off her covers, then shivered slightly. The fire in the fireplace was newly lit and hadn't fully warmed the room yet. She slipped her abthrobe and slippers on and looked at the foot of her bed. Her presents were waiting.

She opened the one from her parents forst. It was a book on choosing the right career-path. She smiled to see it was for muggles. Still, it could be useful, hypothetically. Harry had given her the book she wanted, _101 Spells for Hair, Makeup, and Everythign Else A Girl Could Ever Find Useful_. Ron had given her a monstrous slab of Honeyduke's chocolate and assorted Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Mrs Weasley had snet her customary jumper and food, and Hagrid gave her rock cakes (which she set aside) and a painting of the Hogwarts grounds at sunset. It was quite beautiful, and Hermiopne wondered who had painted it, since no name was on it. she thought it was wasn't Hagrid, because there were no monsters in it.

Her last present was very fancily wrapped, and it seemed as if Padma, Parvati, and Lavender had all gone in on it together. _Oh, it must be soemthign pretty expensive_, Hermione thought as she slowly undid the exquisite wrapping job.

Inside the box was a beautiful sight. Hermione lifted out the prettiest dress robes she had ever seen. They were a beautiful dark royal bue, made out of a floaty, silky, velvety fabric. Hermione pulled them over her head and looked down. There was a slit up the left side, conservative yet suggestive. The robes clung to her body, bringing out her best feautres, and hiding the bad ones (though Draco would say there were no bad ones). The neckline was a scooping square, and the fabric flowed with her when she moved. Hermione whirled aorund with glee, and silently but fervently thanked the girls. These would help her immensely with her plan.

Hermione glanced at her clock and reluctantly took off the robes, to get dressed in her plain Hogwarts robes. She gathered up the book of beauty spells and career advice, and placed them on her small study table for later reading. She shoved the rock cakes under her bed, and grabbed the painting to show Harry and Ron. She walked down the short corridor to the Gryffinodr Common Room to discover the boys weren't up yet. She sighed in exasperation and stalked up the stairs to the boys' dorm. When she threw open the door, she found Harry and Ron shoving candy in their mouths. They jumped guiltily to be found eating candy before breakfast, but Hermione just rolled her eyes. It was Christmas, after all, and boys will be boys.

"Hey, Hermione! Um…d'you want some chocolate?" Harry held out a piece, but she politely declined.

"How can you eat so much sugar so early in the morning? Never mind. I don't want to know. Look what Hagrid gave me! Isn't it beautiful?" she held up the painting.

Harry and Ron both held up pianting as well. "Yeah, we got 'em too. Wonder who made them?" Ron walked over to look at hers. All three paintings were similar, but had sihgltly different angles, times, and views. Hermione thought hers was the prettiest, but not by much.

She noticed a fairly long note thorwn top the side next to Harry's presents. "What's that, Harry?" she asked, curious.

"Oh, justa letter from the Dursleys reminding me to never come back. It includes quite a few insults, that's why it's so long. I didn't know they had such a large vocasbualry." Harry said all this with complete nonchalance. Hermione knw that although Harry was glad to be rid of the Dursleys, it still slightly hurt him to have his only "family" disown him

"Aw, cheer up, Harry! Look, after breakfast let's go practice some Quidditch! If that's alright with you, Hermione," Ron quickly added.

Hermione nodded. That would give her a chance to tlak to Draco. But all she said was, "Sure, it's fine."

The threesome walked down to breakfast late, talking excitedly about their presents. Ron had actually gotten a blue jumper from his mother this year instead of his customary maroon.

When they reached the Great Hall, Hermione was surprised to see how few people had stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays. There were a couple Hufflepuffs, about a dozen Ravenclaws, them, Ginny and friends and two fourth-year Gryffinodrs, and Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle.

Althought they had eaten their fair share of candy that morning, Harry and Ron still managed to eat third helpings. Hermione just shook her head and muttered "boys." Harry and Ron grinned at each other, then continued stuffign their faces.

After breakfast, the boys went out the front doors, heading to the Quidditch pitch. Hermione noticed Draco hadn't left the Hall yet, so settled against the wall across from the doors to wait for him.

Draco gave up waiting for his two cronies to finish eating and left the Great Hall. He saw Hermione leaning against the wall and brightened. He walked over to her and they silently walked around the corner to the now-familiar classroom. Hermione, however, didn't stop. When Draco did, she turned and shook her head. "Let's go to your room. I have your present for you." Draco shrugges and continued with her.

When the swordsman opened, Draco entered. He had a plan for tonight, but he wouldn't say no to getting his prsent now. He turned and grinned. "So? Where is it?"

Hermione laughed. He sounded like a little boy. She reached in her pocketand pulled out the box she had wrapped. She hadned it to Draco and he walked over and sat down on the couch to open it. hermione sat next to him. Draco tore off the wrapping and opned the box. Inside were two blank, rectangular screens. "What are they?" He had never seens aything like them.

"They're Magicoms, or magical comminucators. They're kind of like the wizard version of a mobile phone. If you want to talk to someone, then just tap it with your wand and say their name. They hace to have one of these, but you'd be surprised how many people do. Hary and Ron both do. Well, anyway," she continued when she saw Draco roll his eyes, "the screen comes up on both of our and it's like a videophone." Draco looked blankly at her. Hermione sighed and tried to explain what a videophone was, without much success. "Here, I'll show you." She took one of the Magicoms, tapped it with her wand, and said, "Draco Malfoy." Draco heard the other device buzz and picked it up. Hermione's face appeared. She said, "Now fo you see how it works?" he could hear her from the "phone" and sitting next to him. The real Hermione turned to him and so did the screen one, though he couldn't see himslef on the screen.

"These are really wicked, Hermione! Where did you find them?"

"Well, like I said, Harry and Ron both have them, and I just asked them where they got them. They really arent that hard to find, they're practically everywhere." Hermione shrugged. Draco tapped the Magicom to turn it off, and Hermione did the same. "I;m going to keep one, so you can talk to me. That's really why I got them." She grinned somewhat sheepishly.

"So, where's my present?" Hermione looked around as if expecting it to pop out from under the bed or behind the armchair.

Draco laughed and put his finger to her lips. "You have to wait until tonight. I have something special planeed. Speaking of which, I need to tell you where to go. Now, this might sound a bit odd, but trust me on this, okay?" He waited for her to nod before continuing. "alright, at 8 o'clock you need to walk over to your closet. Open it and say to the back wall: 'Closet, bring me to the room. I will return soon.' Got it?" he waited for her to confirm.

Hermione wracked her brain. That sounded so familiar! Then it hit her. The romantic room that she found when she was lost! Draco must have found it too. She had to admit it was a wonderful idea…but what about her own plan? Oh…that was atken care of too, she remembered the layout of the room.

Hermione looked up and realized Draco was still waiting for an answer. She shook her thoughts into place. "Yes, of course, that's fine." Draco breathed a sigh of relief. He had already talked to a houself about making sure theroom was ready, and about the food. He had also used the wardrobe mode of transportation more than once, to make sure it still worked.

On the way out, Hermione noticed a long, beautiful box. Next to it lay a brand new broomstick. And not just any broomstick, this was a Quicksilver. "Draco, who gave you that?" Hermione breathed. Though she didn't love the sport like some, it was hard not to pick up a few things about Quidditch with Harry and Ron as your friends. She knew enough to know that the Quicksilver was the best, fastest, and most expensive broom in the history of the sport (which was very long, indeed).

"Lucius. I think it's his way of saying, 'welcome to the club.' Well, I'd rather not belong to the club than have this, but, you know, with every cloud there's a silver lining." He paused, then added, "No pun intended," then grinned at her.

Hermione sighed and shook her head. That was a bad joke. She walked out the portrait hole, and up to the Great Hall for the big Christmas feast.

Harry leaned back and burped. Hermione admnished him, but Ron just laughed and helped himself to more stuffing.

After the feast, the threesome walked slowly upstairs and sat around in the Common Room, lazy and full of food. Ron grunted to Harry, "Wanna play chess?" Harry agreed, but they played only half-heartedly.

Around six, Hermione excused herslef to her room. She took a shower and opned the book of beauty spells Harry had given her. Instantly her hair was dry and falling in soft curls down her back. She pinned the foremost curls back with small clips. She slipped into the brand-new dress robes she had gotten that morning, and walked over to the mirror with her makeup bag.

Finally, around 7:45, Hermione was ready. With a final thought she pulled a package out from under her bed. In it was a silver necklace with a heart on the end. On the heart was etched and X. Hermione smiled and put it around her neck, knowing what it symbolized.

She walked over to her closet and opened it. if she hadn't already experienced this mode of transportation, she would have thought it was crazy. Or maybe she woulnd't, with all the other bizzare things she had experienced in her over six years of being in the wizarding world. 

Hermione took a deep breath and recited the poem. Her closet wall opened, and Hermione pushed through the clothes to the room beyond.

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Ouuuuuu……left u hanging! ::evilly cackles:: so, review please, since you read it! suggestions, comments, questions, etc. just hit the little button down there! Also, possible beta readers! O, just to let you know, I only want serious betas. Don't tell me yu will and then not follow through, or ignore me, or whatever. You have to be serious about it, have a good eye for catching mistakes, and be able to come up with suggestions, ok? Ok.


	17. Dinner and Dessert

Wow! ::whistles:: look at all my reviews! Cool! Ok, I know the other chappy was a real cliffhanger, so here's the next one for all you people who said you'd kill me if I didn't put the next one up soon (which is really weird, because then you would _never_ get the next one! But I see what you're getting at: you could have raided my house and found the notebook, because I already have written through chapter 19, haha!)

Yeah, so thanks to: sanaria (u r gr8! Luv ur reviews!), spitfire06, skylar malfoy, genny chamberlain, ithilwen mirtine, hermione18, and OZZE!!!!!!

This chappy is dedicated to ozze because I luv long reviews and u gave me TWO!!!!!!!! (so yes, I did mean the dedicate thing, lol)

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Chapter 17: Dinner and Dessert

Draco's breath caught. Hermione looked absolutely stunning. Everything from her hair to her shoes was perfect. His eyes wandered over her perfect body accented by the beautiful royal blue robes she wore.

Hermione stood there, trying not to blush as she waited for Draco to say something. She eyed him and decided he looked wonderful himself. His slate robes matched his eyes and showed off his muscled body. His hair fell softly around his face, a stray piece falling in his eye. Hermione's fingers itched to brush it back into place. His eyes were wide and bright as he took her in.

"Wow. You look gorgeous, Hermione." Draco was temporarily speechless. He suddenly turned and beckoned her over to the table set for two, with romantic candles and plates of food.

"Thanks, Draco, you look nice yourself." She walked over to the table and gracefully sat down. She looked at the table. "Wow, you really put a lot of work into this, Draco!"

Draco grinned. "With a little help from the houselfs." They ate in relative silence, chatting about homework and such every so often. When they finished eating, Draco stood up and walked around the table. He slipped a box out of his pocket and handed it to her. It was wrapped in gold with a silver ribbon. Hermione opened it slowly.

"Ohhhhhh, Draco they're beautiful!" Hermione breathed as she looked in the box. Inside were two gold earrings with real diamonds in them. She lifted them out and slipped them in her ears. Then she kissed him lightly.

Draco smiled as he looked down at Hermione. His gaze caught her necklace and widened as he realized the meaning of it. he decided to test it, just to make sure. "So, where did you get that necklace, Hermione?" he drawled innocently.

Hermione blushed furiously. "Um…er…just-at a store."

"What store? It seems like a ward of some sort."

"Er, just one down in Hogsmeade. And it is a ward of some sort, I mean." She shifted uncomfortably. _Why am I so nervous? It's the reason I got this stupid thing, isn't it?_

That was enough for Draco. He pulled her close, and with a gleam in his eye, whispered, "What d'you say we try it out, eh?" Hermione's jaw dropped, but before she could say anything, Draco took advantage of her open moth to run his tongue along her lip. She shivered and pulled him closer.

Draco was delighted to find that not only had he been right about the ward, but also Hermione would not resist him this time. He allowed himself a little more fervor as he kissed her. His hands slowly moved sown her body as he pulled her over to the bed and sat down, still kissing her.

Hermione felt a thrill run up her spine. She felt Draco searching for her robes' clasps, and she directed his hands. She slipped his own off easily, and pulled him farther onto the bed. This would surely be a Christmas to remember…

Draco leaned over and brushed a piece of hair out of Hermione's sleeping face. She stirred as he lightly kissed her cheek. 

Hermione opened her eyes to see Draco leaning over her. She smiled up at him, stretched and yawned. "Morning, love."

"Good morning to you, too, it's eleven a.m." he smiled down at her and brushed his lips against hers. 

"Mmmm….." she wriggled with delight when he pulled her under the covers.

They came up, panting for air, in each other's arms. Draco smiled contentedly at her. "I love you," was about all he could say, or wanted to. 

Hermione laughed. This was fun. She didn't know why she'd been so hesitant before, Draco was so gentle and sweet. She curled up in his arms and sighed. 

They lay like that for quite some time; so long, in fact, that Draco thought Hermione had fallen back to sleep. He looked, and her eyes were open. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

"I'm thinking about your wish list. You got what you really wanted." She grinned as she looked up at him. He nodded and laughed.

"Yes, I guess I did." He looked around the room. A fire was crackling merrily in the fireplace, and the table was gone. He hoped the houselfs hadn't actually come in to do the cleaning up. He looked back down as Hermione started to say something.

"Draco, how did you know what my necklace was?" Hermione asked as she fingered the object of discussion.

"Oh, I know a pregnancy ward when I see one, trust me." He grinned and Hermione blushed pink. She looked around the room for her clothes. She had forgotten where she had put them. Oh, well. Did it really matter? _Yes. Find your robes, Hermione. But I don't want to,_ her other voice replied. _Come on, get up. Do you want Harry and Ron to wonder where you are? Get up! You'll have plenty of time to see Draco._ Hermione thought this voice had a point, so she sighed and sat up. Draco started. 

"I better get back, or Harry and Ron will wonder where I am, you know," she said by way of explanation.

"Oh, screw Potter and Weasley." But Draco sat up too. They searched the room for their robes, and Draco discovered them folded neatly and placed on an end table. He thought, _the houselfs _did_ come in here to clean up…I hope they don't tell anyone…_

When they were fully clothed again, they walked over to the wardrobe. "Go ahead, you first," Draco said, and Hermione turned for a quick kiss. It turned into a rather long, passionate one, but Draco finally broke it with a laugh and sent Hermione on her way.

Only after Hermione had left and Draco was opening his mouth did he remember the little black book on the end table. He had meant to ask Hermione…well, he could always ask her later. He grabbed it and stepped through the closet to his room, tossing it carelessly in his trunk and promptly forgetting about it.

Albus Dumbledore sighed as he sat down at his desk. Another opportunity wasted. He really needed to get a move on, or things might not happen like they should.

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hehehe…what does this mean? Sorry it was really short, but it seemed like a good stopping place. I told you I'm not very good at sex scenes. Imagine what you will! Besides, this is pg13, not R, so I couldn't make it _too_ explicit anyway. Review! 


	18. The Book

Thanks to all the reviewers! I'm not gonna name you all, cuz that was just a one/two time thing. It just takes up space, and I'm sure you just wanna read the story! I've estimated roughly, and I say there'll probably be about 5 or 6 more chapters after this.

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Chapter 18: The Book

Christmas vacation quickly passed. Soon the school was filled with students again, and Draco and Hermione found it much harder to see each other. Their N.E.W.T. tests were coming up at the end of the year, and they were both studying hard, and the teachers decided to help them by piling on homework. Draco continued his spywork for Dumbledore, and that took up plenty of his time. 

In mid-January, a rumor started circulating that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater. When Harry, Ron, and Hermione heard it, the boys instantly believed it. Hermione seemed upset by the news, but when Harry asked her about it, all she said was, "I was just hoping You-Know-Who wouldn't get his hands on a second generation."

Hermione told Draco about the rumor, but he only grinned. "I know, I started it." Hermione was incredulous.

"You want people to think that about you?"

"Yes, I let someone glimpse 'something' on my arm that looked remarkably like the Dark Mark. If course, no one will outright accuse me and check my arm. They're all too scared of me already." His voice had slipped into the familiar drawl of previous years. He noticed, and quickly adjusted it. "It makes it easier for my cover."

Thus the months slowly passed.

During one of their few stolen moments, Draco suddenly winced. Hermione drew back and asked what was wrong, and he held his arm out. The Mark burned black. "I have to go," he whispered to her.

Hermione looked nervously at the tattoo. "Be careful." With a swift kiss, Draco swept out of the room and down the road to Disapparate. He found it so inconvenient that he couldn't Apparate on the Hogwarts grounds.

Hermione straightened her robes and walked slowly back to her room, worrying about Draco. She knew it wouldn't do any good, but she couldn't help it. Draco put his life on the line every time he went to a revel. She never felt he was safe until he was in her arms again. It was so nerve-wracking!

Hermione paced her room for a few minutes, then decided this would do no good at all. She grabbed her book bag and walked out to the Common Room to find Ron and Harry so they could do their homework together. They boys were sitting at a table in a corner, moaning about their Divination project. Hermione walked over, and they promptly shut up, knowing what she would say if she found them copying.

Hermione threw her book bag on the table with a thump. She pulled out her thick Ancient Runes textbook and began reading. Harry and Ron looked at each other, shrugged, and turned back to their parchments.

The evening passed in silence, Hermione fidgeting with her quill every so often. Harry and Ron didn't know what was wrong, but knew from experience that if they asked it most definitely wouldn't help any.

Finally, around eleven, Hermione abruptly got up, said good night, and went to her room. "What was that all about?" Ron asked a just as bewildered Harry.

"Why are you asking me? I have no idea. Maybe she just had a bad day." Ron nodded and they closed their books. Hopefully, she'd be better in the morning.

Hermione was much better in the morning. She greeted Harry and Ron cheerfully as they walked down the steps to the Great Hall. Harry decided it must have been a girl thing.

Hermione was relieved to see Draco alive and well at the Slytherin table that morning. She talked and laughed happily after that.

Draco stood up when he was finished with his breakfast. He pulled out his communicator after entering the classroom, tapped it and said, "Hermione."

Hermione heard a buzz in her pocket. She dug in and took out the Magicom. Draco must be calling her. She looked quickly toward the Slytherin table, but didn't see him. Funny, he was just there. He must have left when she wasn't looking.

Harry and Ron were talking with Dean about the Chudley Cannons' last game. She tapped the screen and Draco's image appeared. He said nothing, realizing where she was, just scanned the room with the Magicom and motioned her to come. 

Hermione stood up and left the Great Hall after telling Ron and Harry she wanted to ask Professor Dionysus something before class. She hurried towards the classroom they always met in, around the corner. 

Draco waited. He had brought the book. It was somewhat disturbing, so he wanted to ask Hermione about it. When she entered, he took it out. "I wanted to ask you about this." He brought it over to her. She looked surprised.

"What is it?" Hermione looked at the leather-bound book with curiosity. It seemed innocent enough, but she knew for a fact that looks can be deceiving, and above all to not judge a book by its cover, figuratively or literally.

"That's just it. I'm not sure. There's nothing written in it, except…" Draco opened the book to the first page. It was an identification page, with two words written on it: _Salazar Slytherin_.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "You didn't do anything, did you? You didn't write in it?" she was remembering their second year when Ginny found Tom Riddle's diary. She gasped as she remembered Draco's father had been the owner of it. "Where did you get this?" she asked pensively.

"I don't know. Just one day it was sitting on my trunk. I don't know how it got there." This had truly bewildered him. There had been nothing but the blank book. Not until later did he find the name in it. 

"Hmmm…well, maybe you should show it to Dumbledore. If anyone knew what it was, he would." Draco sighed. He had hoped she would have read something, a passage in _Hogwarts, A History_ or something, like with the Chamber of Secrets. He didn't want to ask the headmaster for any more than he needed to. But, Draco was doing something for him, so maybe he deserved some answers.

However, it was now time for class, so they went their separate ways, Hermione to Transfiguration, and Draco to Herbology.

It was late in the evening. Draco took a deep breath and raised his hand to knock on the Headmaster's door. "Come in." Draco dropped his hand in surprise and twisted the doorknob.

Dumbledore looked up and his gaze took in the small book in Draco's left hand, but all he said was, "Ah, Mr. Malfoy. Please, have a seat."

Draco sat and watched as the Professor took off and polished his glasses. As he replaced them, he said, "Any particular reason you are here? I heard nothing of another revel." He raised an eyebrow, questioning.

"Well, sir, I wanted to ask you about this." He put the black leather book on the desk and pushed it over to the headmaster. 

"Hmmm…" he said, sounding remarkably similar to Hermione as he opened the book. His eyes gave nothing away as he read the name in the front cover, but his mind was spinning. _It has begun_, he thought, and leafed through the pages. There was nothing on any other page. _But it is not complete_.

"Well, Draco, it seems you have stumbled across an interesting little artifact. Tell me, where did you find it?" he looked up at the nervous student across from him.

"That's hard to answer, sir. It simply appeared on my trunk one day. Until yesterday it had nothing written in it. I was wondering if you might know something about it…" Draco shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"I actually do know a tiny bit about this. You would not find it in a book from the library. Which is perhaps why Miss Granger knows nothing about it." Draco's head shot up at the mention of Hermione. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "If you recall, she might have told you once that I know a lot more that happens in this school than most people think." Draco guiltily thought of what he might know…if he was that kind of person, he would have been blushing furiously. However, since he had been taught from birth to hide his true emotions, he continued to look steadily at Dumbledore.

"So, about this book. It has actually been a legend in the wizarding world for quite some time, if it is what I believe it to be. You may recall that Salazar Slytherin, one of the founding four of Hogwarts, did not get along with the other founders particularly well. It has long been believed that he was a Dark wizard, actually the _founder_ of the Dark order. Perhaps you can see where I am going with this." Dumbledore looked sharply at Draco, who's eyes narrowed as he nodded.

"Well, Rowena Ravenclaw, the great Seer of the age, supposedly made a prediction about Slytherin's…exploits, you might say. No one knew, or knows, what it was, until it comes to pass. The people involved will know immediately."

"Is that all? It doesn't actually tell me what this book is about, does it?" Draco looked confused.

"No, that is not all. According to this legend, she told Salazar Slytherin, and him alone, the prediction. He wrote it down on a journal, and hid the journal. Legend says when the prediction comes true, the journal will be discovered with some sort of earth-shattering discovery included in the prediction written there."

"Well, I wish, but there's one small problem. _There's nothing written in this book_." Draco sighed exasperatedly.

"Ah, yes. Obviously this prediction has not come completely true yet. That we must wait and see for." Dumbledore sat back in his chair, satisfied. Draco had one last question, however.

"So, you're saying-does this prediction involve me? Since I found this-journal?" 

"Hmmm, well, they say the prediction named no names. I'm sorry, but I couldn't say." Draco saw he was dismissed, so got up and left.

This was certainly a lot of information. He took out his Magicom absently and called Hermione.

Hermione was working in the library with Padma when she heard her Magicom buzz. She excused herself and walked into a deserted row of bookshelves. The Magicom buzzed again, more insistently, if that was possible for a buzz.

Hermione tapped it with her wand and Draco's face appeared. "Hermione, I talked to Dumbledore about it, and he told me an awful lot."

"Where should I meet you? I can't talk here; I'm in the library," she whispered.

"My room. It's closest."

"Ok, I'll be there soon." She tapped it off and walked back to Padma. "I have to go, but I'll see you later, alright?" Padma agreed, and Hermione gathered her stuff into her bag. She walked out of the library and headed towards the dungeons.

Draco sat on his couch, contemplating the little book. Could it really be the great Salazar Slytherin's journal? It seemed too innocent, just lying there, a little non-descript leather-bound book. Draco picked it up and flipped through the pages for what seemed like the hundredth time. He had been surprised the Headmaster hadn't wanted to keep it, if he truly thought it was what he said it could be. 

Draco jumped when the portrait opened. He had been so lost in thought he had forgotten he had asked Hermione to come.

"Hi Draco. So what happened? What did Dumbledore say?" she asked as she walked over and sat next to him. She looked at him curiously.

Draco proceeded to tell her everything he could remember about the book, the prediction, and the legend. Hermione's eyes widened as she listened. Draco laughed. "Your eyes are as big as saucers! Really, it isn't all that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal? Are you crazy? This is a huge legend, coming true before our very eyes! This is really cool." She looked very excited.

Draco laughed again. "There's one problem. This can't be the journal because _there's nothing in it_. No prediction or anything. Just a name. And for all we know, that name could even be false. It could be a joke someone decided to play."

"Well, you said you found it on your trunk. Your trunk is in your room," Hermione gestured, "and how many people know your password?" Draco sighed.

"Ok, you have a point. How come I can never win these arguments against you?" he asked playfully.

"Because I'm much smarter and your mind is captivated by my beauty," Hermione shot back with a grin. Draco reached for her, and squealed "Draco!" when he lay her gently down on the couch, then went into a laughing fit that was quickly silenced by Draco's lips.

Hermione ran her tongue over Draco's lips. They opened to allow her it through. Hermione gasped as he slipped her robes quickly off, followed by his own. She gave herself up to the night.


	19. Suspicious

Yay! My computer is working! So, to celebrate, I'm gonna post as many chappys as I can before Christmas, because I won't be able to post Tuesday or Wednesday. Ok, thanks for the reviews, I love you all! Here's next chappy!

One quick note: to whoever asked me this, the ward works for as long as the wearer wants it to work. For the consequences of teen sex, see my other fic! Thanx!

Disclaimer: this is getting very boring, but I don't own these peeps, just the plot.

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Chapter 19: Suspicious

Hermione yawned, but didn't open her eyes. Odd, she couldn't feel the sun streaming in her room. She decided it must be early and rolled over to go back to sleep.

She hit something.

Hermione's eyes flew open. They widened as she looked around at the stone walls and floors, and green bed hangings. Her gaze drifted over the thing she had hit when she rolled over.

Draco. Still sleeping.

_Oh._ This was about all Hermione could think of. The last thing she remembered from last night was her eyes drooping slowly on Draco's couch. He must have carried her over here after she fell asleep.

Hermione watched Draco sleep. He seemed years younger, all the worries gone from his face. They were worries no eighteen-year-old should have.

Draco could feel her watching him. It gave him a sense of pleasure, for some reason. He opened his eyes, making sure he would be looking straight into hers. She started. "I didn't know you were awake!" she blushed at having been caught.

"Looks can be deceiving," he grinned at her propped himself up on an elbow. Now she looked up at him. He grinned more widely and rolled so he was above her. She smiled at him.

"You silly goose," she whispered, and reached up to pull his head down to hers.

"Wait, what time is it?" Draco whispered against her lips. She rolled over to look at the clock.

"Oh my gosh! It's seven thirty!" Hermione rolled back over, sat up, and with a quick kiss jumped out of bed and grabbed her robes. She pulled them on and waited for Draco, who had been initially startled by her sudden movements. He climbed more slowly out of the bed and pulled a new set of robes out of his closet. Hermione wondered when she would get to change her own when a thought struck her.

"Draco, wait. Don't close that." She walked over to the closet and studied it, and then she turned to her lover. "Remember the wardrobe room?"

Draco grinned. "How could I forget? It was where we-"

"Okay, so remember the poem? What if," she continued when he nodded, "it worked for all closets? I mean, here, at least." Her eyes sparkled.

"That's an interesting thought. Well, let's find out." Draco recited the poem, changing the 'my' to 'Hermione's.' the back wall of the closet opened and Hermione's room appeared.

"Ouuuuuu, it _does_ work!" Hermione squealed. With a glance back at Draco, she quickly entered her room, and the closet shut behind her. She turned around and grabbed some robes, slipping them on after her old ones fell to the floor, and flew out the door, muttering a Hair-Brushing Spell on the way.

Hermione reached the Charms corridor just in time to see the last of the students entering their classroom. She quickly joined them, and slipped into a seat next to Harry.

"Where were you, Hermione?" Ron hissed. "You missed breakfast."

"I overslept. I guess I was really tired last night." Harry took in Hermione's disheveled appearance and believed it. She had shadows under her eyes; Harry and Ron both know how much she had been studying for the NEWTs. Even though she had gotten twelve OWLs and was the top in their class, she studied more than anyone they knew. And everyone knew she didn't need to. It was simply her way of relieving tension, though hardly anyone knew that except Harry, Ron, and someone they were not aware about.

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat and started talking in his high squeaky voice about Time Charms. Hermione listened closely, because she knew Time Charms were very difficult; anything dealing with time was complicated, as she had experienced in her third year.

After Charms was Transfiguration, then she split from Harry and Ron for Arithmancy.

The seventh-years' tension was mounting as the end of the year drew closer. With only a few weeks until their exams, they were studying like crazy. Draco didn't think he could possibly cram anything else into his head, never mind his schedule. He had classes and Quidditch practices, and studied whenever he didn't have either. His Death Eater/spy duties were becoming a huge burden. He went at least once a week, and had to decline the other half of the time.

Draco often wondered when Voldemort would be defeated. Potter didn't seem to have anything to do with it. He went around seemingly without a care in the world besides exams and Quidditch. The fight against the Dark side had come to a stalemate. Neither side gained much ground, and meanwhile the Death Eaters were killing more and more Muggles.

Draco was studying one evening when his arm slipped. It seared with pain, and Draco groaned. He got up, grabbed his cloak, and silently moved through the castle to the road. Once off the Hogwarts grounds, he quickly Apparated to the Dark Lord. Most of the Death Eaters were there already, forming their silent circle. Draco did the customary greeting, then took his place in the circle, next to Lucius.

Draco looked around. They were in a forest, and he could see lights twinkling in a village nearby. Electric lights. They must be going to raid Muggle houses. The thought made him sick.

"Death Eaters. We will be doing a routine Muggle raid tonight, simply to keep the Ministry on its toes. They need some work. We'll give them some. However, I need not remind you that simply because this is routine, does not mean it is unimportant. Every Muggle killed is one less in the world, one less monstrous, slimy, filthy creature crawling the earth. Never forget that." With a malicious smirk Voldemort whirled around, clock billowing behind him, and started towards the village. With a few whispered cheers, the hoards of men followed.

Draco walked along between Lucius and Nott, deep in thought. Suddenly, he felt a buzz in his pocket. Instinctively he reached in and took out his Magicom. He then realized this was definitely a bad move, because Hermione's face appeared on the screen. She started to talk. Lucius whirled around at the sound of an unfamiliar female voice.

"Draco! I'm so glad I got ahold of you. Dumbledore wanted to talk about your book again…" Draco was horrified, and Hermione noticed his expression. She looked at his surroundings-what she could see in the restricted view from the Magicom-and her eyes widened. Draco was definitely not in Hogwarts, because he was wearing a screen mask and walking through some woods. She glanced around and saw a few men cloaked and masked similarly. She clapped a hand to her mouth and whispered, "Sorry, Draco." The screen went blank.

Lucius looked at Draco, his eyes glinting in the shadows. Though Draco couldn't see the rest of his face, he knew the elder Malfoy was dangerously close to finding out too much, when he realized Lucius had seen Hermione and heard her monologue.

"Draco, do you mind explaining what that was all about?" Lucius' voice was straining to remain low and calm as they continued their march through the woods. "Why was that Mudblood calling you?" 

Draco had hoped Lucius wouldn't remember who Hermione was, but it seemed he had a very good, detailed memory. "Granger and I are working on a project in Potions, and she must have had a question about it." the lie came to him quickly and he spit it out without thinking. Lucius looked at him calculatingly-as far as Draco could tell while the man was wearing a mask-but seemed to let it go. He quickened his pace and caught up with Avery, starting a quiet conversation with him.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. He thanked anyone listening for stopping Hermione before she gave anything away. He hoped Lucius didn't wonder what 'that book' was. Not that it was incriminating, but that sentence could be interpreted that Hermione and him were in speaking terms, and that he was friendly with Dumbledore.

At two the next morning Draco trudged silently through the halls of Hogwarts, warily thinking only of his nice soft bed. When he got to it, he collapsed.

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ok, I didn't realize this chappy was so short until I typed it up, and there's not another good stopping place for awhile yet, so you'll just have to wait for the next chappy. Sorry! As always, please review! I can't believe I've almost got a hundred! I love you all, you're amazing! Ok, so now that I've praised you, review some more! We'll get a cycle going…


	20. Pansy

I'm baaaaaaack! Yay, returned from the dead, here's the next chappy.

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Chapter 20: Pansy

Hermione was beside herself with worry. As soon as she blanked out the Magicom she started praying her actions wouldn't reveal Draco's true loyalties. She had seen a pair of gleaming eyes wreathed in darkness that she recognized as Lucius Malfoy's. That could be very bad if he remembered her. She analyzed every word she had said, trying to see if she had given away anything.

She didn't get much sleep that night. Every time her eyes closed she envisioned Draco's status being compromised and Voldemort killing him in various ways. She would wake up sweating, and it would take her awhile to calm her heart down and fall asleep again, only to be met by a variation of the same nightmare. She finally fell into a fitful but dreamless sleep a little before dawn.

Unfortunately for both of them, Draco and Hermione had classes the next day. Hermione frantically searched the Great Hall at breakfast until her gaze rested on the whole and well form of Draco Malfoy. Draco grinned at her and she blushed sheepishly, her eyes full of tears of relief.

Harry and Ginny didn't notice this, as they were deep in a rather intimate conversation, holding each other's hands and talking quietly. Ron did, however, and followed Hermione's gaze across the large room to the Slytherin table. By the time it got there, the object of her haze was occupying himself with his toast, and Ron couldn't figure out who she had been looking at, finally deciding he was imagining things. When he turned back to Hermione, he confirmed this, seeing no trace of red in her face, just concentration as she read _101 Careers and You_ propped against her goblet of pumpkin juice.

Draco was just finishing his toast when Pansy came up to him (A/N: I hate Pansy!). "Draco, dear, do we have a project in Potions? I don't recall one, but someone told me we do…"

Draco looked at her strangely and replied, "No, not that I know of." Her eyes gleamed for a second, but she walked away without another word. Draco muttered to himself as he turned back to his toast, "Weird girl."

Nonetheless, Draco couldn't help noticing how Pansy hovered around him all day. This was unusual, because ever since he had dumped her at the beginning of sixth year, she had mainly avoided him.

During a free period, Draco was studying in the library when his Magicom started buzzing. He looked around and moved discretely behind a row of bookshelves before taking it out. Hermione, of course, appeared.

"Draco, I wanted to talk to you about last night. Did you already talk to Dumbledore?" Draco shook his head and she sighed. "Ok, well, the reason I called you last night was that Dumbledore wanted to look at that book again. He said there should be something important in it, something we need to break this stalemate."

Draco looked around again to make sure he was still alone. No one. He turned back to the Magicom. "There's one problem: _There's still nothing written in it._"

Hermione sighed. "Well, bring it to him anyway. Maybe he's found out how to make it show itself." Draco heard Potter's voice in the background, and Hermione called out, "I'll be right there!" She turned back to Draco. "I have to go. Bring the book to Dumbledore. Love you," she whispered, and the screen blanked.

Draco sighed and went back to his study table to pick up his books and rush to Care of Magical Creatures. He'd talk to Dumbledore tonight.

As Draco walked out of the library, he heard footsteps behind him. He groaned silently when Pansy fell into step next to him. He tried ignoring her, but she kept glancing at him, and he finally drawled in his coldest voice, "What do you want, Parkinson?"

Pansy looked hurt at the use of her last name, because that was a sign that Draco either didn't like you or didn't think you were worthy to be on a first name basis with him. But she said, "Who were you talking to in the library?" Draco froze. Not outwardly. Of course, he was well trained to not show his emotions. But his mind spun rapidly, trying to think of an excuse. He couldn't use the Potions one on Pansy-oh no. This morning. Lucius… Draco closed his eyes when he realized what was going on. This was _so_ bad.

He realized Pansy was still waiting for an answer, so he decided on the uninformative one: "Why do you care?"

"I was just wondering…it sounded like the Mudblood." It took Draco a second to realize she was indeed talking about Hermione, and he had to restrain himself from punching her smug face. He hadn't thought of Hermione like that for so long, and it sounded so wrong now. He let none of this show. 

"Yes, it was." Draco wanted to know exactly how much Pansy had heard.

"Well, why were you talking to her? It didn't sound like you were insulting her. She seemed…civil." Draco breathed a sigh of relief when she said nothing about the book or Dumbledore, but then, "And what was that about a book? Why would you talk to Dumbledore, the stupid Muggle-lover?"

Draco thought fast. What of his classes wasn't Pansy in? "Granger and I are doing a project in Arithmancy, and when I was doing research I found a problem in a book. Dumbledore wanted to look at it." Draco shrugged.

Pansy looked suspicious, but said nothing else. Draco sped ahead, out the doors and down to the lake, where their Care of Magical Creatures class was gathering today.

They were studying Gradobulls: tiny, bull-like creatures that lived in water. They were similar to frogs as well, with powerful back legs that propelled them through the water, and they were amphibious. Hagrid had caught a few of them and put them in a large tank for the students to observe. He droned about them the entire period. Of course, nothing in Hagrid's class was harmless, and the Gradobulls had an extremely vicious streak in them. 

Draco didn't hear most of the lecture, because he zoned out. Making sure no one was paying any attention to him (they weren't, most of the students had fallen asleep on the warm summer heat), he sank into a stupor staring at Hermione. She must have felt his gaze, because she shifted her eyes toward him and smiled. She wrote something on her parchment and touched her wand to it, whispering a few words.

Writing appeared on Draco's parchment. _Did you talk to Dumbledore yet?_ Draco replied, _No, but I need to talk to you, soon._ He sneaked a glance to see her reaction, and her eyes widened. What could possibly have happened in the past hour? _Ok, I'll come to your room at seven tonight. Then we can go to Dumbledore._ Draco agreed, and the bell rang out dully across the grounds.

At dinner Hermione was anxious. What could possibly have happened now? As soon as dinner was done, she rushed Ron and Harry back to Gryffindor tower. They didn't notice anything wrong. 

Hermione couldn't concentrate on her homework. She finally decided to go a little early.

Draco paced his room. Should he tell the Headmaster he'd been compromised? That seemed a little shaky. There really wasn't any evidence at all to suggest it, just a few coincidences put together. He looked at his watch. Six-thirty. He sighed and sat down to do a little homework. When he sat down, he banged his arm against the table. He thought for a second that was where the pain came from, but knew it had come from the ugly Mark on his arm.

__

Why now? He groaned silently. There had just been a revel yesterday! He sighed, however, and wrote a note of apology to Hermione and ran out into the night.

Hermione entered her room and opened the closet. She wanted to get to Draco's room as quickly as possible, without being seen. 

When she pushed through the clothes, she was looking at an empty room. "Draco?" she called, thinking perhaps he was in the restroom. There was no answer. She looked around again. There was a small, ripped piece of parchment on Draco's desk. She walked over and picked it up.

__

Hermione-

Got called. Sorry, I'll see you tomorrow. The book's in my trunk if you want to take it to Dumbledore.

Love,

Draco

Hermione sighed and looked at Draco's trunk. She walked over and opened it. The faint scent of cologne wafted from it, and Hermione smiled. There the little black book was, right on top. She lifted it out and closed the trunk softly. She exited the room swiftly, closing the portrait and walking towards Dumbledore's office. 


	21. Test

Ok, I thought I typed this up, but now I can't find it, so I have to retype it, sorry for the delay! I've also been really busy with finals and I was sick, plus I wrote another fic! It's called You and Me, Harry/Ron, mostly fluff, go check it out!

So here's the next chappy, finally!

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Chapter 21: Test

Draco looked at Lucius in amamzement. "You're joking, right?"

Lucius' eyes were hard. "I would not joke about this. It is true."

Draco's mind was spinning and his heart was pounding. He had been right…Lucius had told Pansy to spy on him this morning. And he was shocked at what Lucius wanted him to do to prove his loyalty. "You want me to kill an entire family to prove I'm loyal to the Dark Lord?"

"Certainly. They are only Muggles, after all. They don't matter. Stupid, slow, unmagical, they are just cluttering up this place for someone useful. If you are truly loyal to the Mark, this should mean nothing to you." Lucius' eyes were narrowed into slits as he stared at his son.

The rest of the Death Eaters had gone on ahead, leaving Lucius to deal with Draco's test.

Draco though fast. In his entire time 'serving' the Dark Lord, he had managed to avoid killing anyone. He couldn't possibly evade it now, unless he wanted to die himself.

If he died, Voldemort might never fall. It was almost impossible to get new spies incorporated in the Dark Lord's inner circle. The Muggles weren't essential to the downfall of Voldemort. Of course, he didn't know if he could kill. Hermione had sensitised him to hurting others. This would torment him the rest of his life.

Draco nodded once and started walking to catch up with the rest of the group. They were almost to a town. Soon they were walking down a street, a nice, suburban-looking street with upper middle class houses on it.

Voldemort stopped in front of one. He sniffed, then nodded. Two Death Eaters silently disintigrated the door. They then stood aside. Voldemort, Lucius, and Draco entered.

The house was quiet. Everyone was asleep. Voldemort walked boldly through the rooms until he found the staircase.

Unfortunately, there was someone already there.

A small Muggle girl, not more than five years old, clutched a teddy bear as she stared at them. "Who are you?" Her shrill voice rang through the house, and Draco winced at the sound after many minutes of silence.

Voldemort stepped aside. "This is your time, Draco." He stood there, waiting. Nothing but cold malice gleamed in his red, cat-like eyes.

Draco took a deep breath and walked forward. He had to do this. He raised his wand, and prepared to say the two words he never wanted to say.

They didn't come. The seconds stretched on. Draco's wand was lifted, pointing at the girl, his mouth slightly open, trying to form the words. The little girl stood frozen in front of him, fear starting to enter her face when she realized these men were not nice, her eyes darting from Draco to his wand to Voldemort, and back.

Draco's mind swirled into a decision. Before anyone could do anything, he Disapparated.

Running up the road to Hogwarts, Draco barely remembered to take off his mask before bursting through the front doors. He hurtled down the hallways, not caring who saw the Head Boy, with mask in hand and cloak billowing behind him.

Draco stopped, panting, in front of the entrance to Dumbledore's office. "lemon drop," he gasped, and ran up the moving staircase. 

Hermione watched Dumbledore examine the journal. Nothing had happened to it. dumledore sighed and handed it back to Hermione. "I'm afraid the prediction has yet to comed true. I had thought…" he shook his head and said, "Never mind. You may go."

Hermione stood up to leave, but as she reached her hand towards the door, it burst open, and Draco hurtled through. Hermione lost her balance as he slammed into her, but his quick Qudditch reflexes caught her before she fell. 

"Draco, what's wrong?" she looked at his disheveled hair (this was cause for concern), and flashing eyes. He strode over to Dumbledore's desk. The Headmaster looked calmly back at him.

"I was afraid this would happen," Dumbledore said quietly, his gaze piercing. "They put it together, what with the messages, and your evasivness, and her," he looked at Hermione, "correct?"

Draco nodded bitterly. Hermione gaped. "Professor, how did you know…"

"About the two of you? Not much of a secret. Tell me, why did you bring the journal, when it was in Draco's possession?" his eyes twinkled when Hermione closed her mouth guiltily. Dumbledore turned back to Draco and motioned for him to sit. Hermione did as well, since she knew all about this anyway. Dumbledore did not object.

Draco explained about the test and the Muggle child, and his inability to kill her. Dumbledore simply nodded. "Obviously you will be ending your spying duties. You will remain at Hogwarts during the holidays until a hiding place can be acquired. You are not safe anywhere else." His voice was business-like.

A tapping on the window drew their attention. A pure black owl was waiting outside. Dumbledore flicked his wand to let it in. it soared over to the desk, landed, and stuck out its leg. The headmaster took off the parchment and girgerly opened it. the owl flew off out the window. Dumbledore quietly read the letter.

"I really did it now. No more spying, eh? Oh well, maybe it's all for the best." Draco brightened as he looked at Hermione.

Hermione sighed. "It could have been worse. If you hadn't escaped…" she shuddered. Draco looked at her with soft eyes.

"Hey." He tipped her face up with his finger under her chin. "It'll be okay." She smiled at him through watery eyes.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. They jumped, having forgotten he was there. Hermione blushed and looked at the floor again. Draco tried to show no signs of embarrassment, but his eyes betrayed him. "Please excuse me. I have to write a few letters to some people informing them of our situation. I will get in touch with you, Draco, sometime tomorrow to further dicuss your arrangements." The young man nodded and exited, his hand discreetly skipping into the young lady's beside him.

Albus smiled to himself. They went really quite well together. He was proud to see what Hermione had done with Draco, completely turning him around from his path towards the Dark. Although he didn't act much different in public (he couldn't), Albus knew Draco's heart was full of love, not hate.

Draco and Hermione silently made their way towards Hermione's room. Any time they saw another student they quickly dropped hands and adopted business-like looks; Draco's snear would be firmly in place.

When Hermione's portrait opened, they silently made their way inside. Harry was sitting on the couch, head in his hands. Hermione froze as soon as she saw him, and Draco lost any color in his face he might have possessed. Harry didn't look up, but said, his voice muffled, "I had another dream, Hermione." He looked up and started.

Malfoy was standing right beside Hermione, holding her hand protectively. Harry's mind went wild. This was the boy in his dream, the reason he had come to Hermione instead of Ron…

"What is _he_ doing in _your room_?" Harry whispered as he slowly stood up, fists clenched.

"I could ask the same thing, Potter," Draco sneered.

"Draco, please, you're not making this easy. Harry is my friend, nothing more, you know that, so maybe you should leave, this can only get worse if you're here," Hermione whispered quickly in her boyfriend's ear.

"You're right. You always are," Draco sighed, and turned his back bitterly on Harry. "I'll see you tomorrow, and if Potter so much as touches you, he's dead." With that, he left swiftly, with a last calculating look at Potter.

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Wow, I didn't realize this until I typed it, but this is a pretty short chappy. Sorry about that, after such a long wait! I swear I'll get another one out soon. Since finals are over, I have much more time (as long as my mom doesn't kick me off to "go get some exercise", bah!) on the computer, but I have to update my other fics too! Please review!


	22. Discovery

Yay, new chapter! I think I'm losing reviewers…so if you actually read this, please review, I don't like posting if no one reviews, because I feel like I'm posting to empty space! Thank you!

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Chapter 22: Discovery

"Hermione." That was all he said, but it made Hermione shiver. His voice was as cold as ice and as hard as steel. It was a voice that demanded the truth, and she knew he wouldn't leave until he'd been told. Harry only used this tone of voice when he was extremely upset or angry.

She walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, pressing him back down onto the couch. He stared up at her, green eyes, glittering. She sighed and started pacing. 

"Ok, I'm going to tell you the truth, and _please_ don't interrupt me until I'm done." She turned, waiting for him to agree. He simply looked at her. She continued, still pacing.

"Draco and I have been seeing each other since the beginning of the school year. Actually, before that. We met at the Leaky Cauldron in August."

Harry looked surprised. Whatever he had expected, it wasn't that. "You mean, when Ron and I couldn't make it to meet you this summer? You've been keeping this from us all _year_?" he gaped at her.

Hermione nodded miserably. "Yes. I know," she held up her hand when Harry opened his mouth, "I know what you think of him, but Harry, he's not what you think." Harry shook his head, disbelieving.

"What do I think? What do you think this looks like? Do you know what he is? What his father is? _What he will become?_ Has he brainwashed you? Made a love potion? Whatever he's done to you, Hermione, I swear Ron and I will kill him!" Harry's eyes were wild and his hands trembled violently. Now he was the one pacing.

"Harry, it's not like that! I need you to just trust me! Draco will _not_ follow in the footsteps of his father. He's a good per-"

Harry cut her off. "A good person? You are seriously deluded Hermione. I'm taking you to the hospital wing right now. He's done something to you!" Harry looked so angry he was turning red. The fire flared dangerously.

"Harry, stop it! Stop it right now! You need to calm down. Remember your Aunt Marge? That's what happens when you get mad. You could hurt someone! Calm down." She forced him to sit down in an armchair.

Harry glared up at her, but obediently took several deep breaths. When he had calmed down sufficiently, he stood up again. "We need to get to you Madame Pomfrey. I don't care what you're saying, he's done something. Don't argue," Harry silenced her protests. "Let's go." He dragged her towards the portrait.

"Harry, listen to me!" she yanked her arm out of his grip. "Draco is helping us! He's a spy for Dumbledore!"

Harry paused, incredulous. "What? Dumbledore's spy? Malfoy?" he snorted. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have _ever_ heard. Maybe I should take you straight to Dumbledore. He can straighten you out." Hermione silently agreed. _Yeah, you'll listen to him. He'll straighten _you_ out._ She allowed Harry to lead her out of the portrait.

"Harry, I can walk perfectly fine. Let's go to Dumbledore, he can explain thing to you a whole lot better than I can, seeing as you won't _listen_ to me." She marched off towards the Headmaster's office, with Harry in tow. 

Albus sank back in his chair. Draco had just told him about Harry. He expected the boy and Hermione any minute now to come in, Harry shouting about Confundus Charms and Hermione trailing resignedly behind.

They did, indeed, come in, but Hermione was in the lead, with Harry behind her. He was, however, muttering about Love Potions and the Imperius Curse.

"Ah, Mr. Potter and Miss Granger. As I expected." He gestured towards two more chairs, next to the one Draco occupied. Harry gave Draco a look of pure hatred and sat in the furthest chair. Hermione sat in the middle. "Now, Mr. Potter, I believe you have something you would like to say? I must ask you, however," he continued as Harry opened his mouth, "to keep your voice down and take into account what Miss Granger has undoubtedly told you already." His eyes twinkled.

"Professor, am I missing something here? Because as far as I know, Malfoy is a brainless, evil Death-Eater-to-be, and Hermione is dating him. You, however, are obviously not surprised about this, and seem to approve." Harry's face had changed from anger to confusion.

"Not Death-Eater-to-be, Potter, Death Eater." Draco pulled up his arm to show Harry his Mark.

Harry's eyes widened in horror and he spluttered, "But, Professor, surely- what is going on?"

Draco smirked and was about to reply, but Dumbledore answered first. "Very good question, Harry, and highly appropriate. As Hermione has already told you, Draco is-or was-my Death Eater spy. He has been invaluable in the fight against Voldemort. Unfortunately, his position has been compromised. Not completely, but he has been expelled from the Dark order, as an incompetent Death Eater, for refusing to kill a Muggle. Draco and Hermione have, indeed, been dating for quite awhile, if I'm not mistaken." Hermione blushed and nodded, and Draco agreed.

Harry gaped. "So you're really on our side, Malfoy?"

Draco sneered at him. "I suppose. But just because I'm 'on your side' doesn't mean I have to like you, Potter." Hermione glared pointedly at him. He ignored it. "I still consider you a nuisance boy who has too much for his own good." Hermione sighed. This relationship was too far gone to be salvaged. She knew the best thing she could hope for with the two boys was tolerance.

Dumbledore interrupted before the conversation could get out of hand. Harry and Draco were shooting daggers at each other with their eyes; if looks could kill…

"Boys, boys. Please, we need to work together. Obviously this is a shock to you, Harry, and I'm sure Hermione would have liked you to find out some other way, and probably some other time. However, more now than ever, we are in need of unity. We need strength. I will settle, for the time being, for a lack of open hostility. If you can't get along together, you will avoid each other." The headmaster looked at Hermione. "I expect you to help them, Miss Granger." The girl sighed. That was like telling her to help pull an angered, fire breathing dragon's tooth with her bare hands. "I'll try, Professor."

"Well," Dumbledore sat back, smiling. "Now that we all understand one another, off you go. It seems rather late; you should get to bed." They walked out of the door, Harry and Draco carefully avoiding each other's gaze. Hermione stalked ahead. The boys were being so childish!

When they reached Gryffindor Tower, Harry turned and waited for Draco to leave before giving the password. Draco walked over to Hermione. "I'll see you tomorrow. Hope Potter doesn't kill you first." He grinned warily.

"Oh, Harry will come around. I'm more afraid of Ron's reaction. Maybe we shouldn't tell him…" she looked nervously towards Harry waiting for her, a murderous look on his face.

Draco twitched her gaze back to his. "Don't worry about them. You have any problems, just call me on the Magicom. I love you." He leaned down and kissed her gently.

Harry made a disgusted sound behind them, and Draco laughed as they broke apart. With a cheerful smile at Hermione and a grudging look at Harry, Draco walked toward his own Common room.

"Harry, wait." Hermione caught Harry's arm before he could speak the password. "We need to talk."

"Haven't we done enough talking for one night?" he asked exasperated, but turned towards her.

"Promise me you won't tell Ron, please? He'd kill Draco, and me, before we had a chance to explain. I need to figure out the right way to tell him." She looked pleadingly at Harry.

"Alright, I wont' tell him. But you should, and soon. We only have a couple weeks left, you know."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know. Buttercup daisy." The Fat Lady swung open, and Hermione stalked to her room. It had been a very long day.

It wasn't over yet. An owl sat on her study table, a letter tied to its leg. This was yet another pure black owl. Hermione hesitatingly pulled the parchment off the owl's leg. She opened it slowly, fearing a curse or something folded into it, but not knowing what else to do.

Nothing happened. When the piece of parchment opened, however, a perfect miniature of a person's skull fell to the floor and sat there grinning hollowly up at her. She shuddered and turned fearfully to the note. She read it and gasped. It dropped to the floor, as if it had burned her. The only thing burning, however, was the single phrase written on the parchment in her mind's eye, along with the skull. The skull seemed to rise up and say the phrase over and over and over…_Careful Mudblood. You and yours are next._ The Dark Mark was emblazoned like a morbid letterhead on the top.

Hermione debated telling someone, but decided it could wait until morning. It was so late, and her adrenaline was quickly wearing off. Nothing else could happen tonight. She crawled into bed but couldn't sleep. She had left the skull and note where they were, not daring to touch them again. The words of the note were stuck in her vision, so every time she closed her eyes she pictured them. She tossed and turned throughout the night, picturing a laughing Voldemort and his sinister followers torturing and killing her friends and family.

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Alright, like I said, you need to review! Thank you so much to all of you who already have! Reviews encourage me… ;-) 


	23. Revelations warning: cliffhanger!

I love you all! My reviewers are great! Chocolat elf, xxhxx, TriGemini, gigglez, Snapes FEMALE Twin, SpitFire06, and, of course, ozze, who has been my most loyal reviewer! Love ya'll!

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Chapter 23:

The next morning, when her alarm rang, Hermione seriously considered faking sick. Then she remembered they had the N.E.W.T.s in less than a week. She groaned and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Suddenly she remembered the items she had dropped the previous night, by her desk. They weren't there. A scorch mark was the only thing on her otherwise spotless floor. _It really did burn_, she thought, shivering. This whole thing was way too creepy. She decided to go to breakfast and get her mind off it. She'd talk to Dumbledore before classes to let him know about the note.

Harry and Ron were waiting for her in the Common room as usual, but Hermione sensed tension coming from Harry. Ron was looking curiously from her to Harry. She smiled brightly, and with a chipper "Good morning!" headed out the portrait hole, leaving an angry Harry and confused Ron to follow. 

During breakfast Hermione felt anything but chipper, but she tried to keep up a conversation with Lavender about the merit of Time Charms anyway. When the post came, Hermione looked up instinctively. She wasn't expecting anything, but you never knew. She spotted yet another pure black owl, and watched it nervously.

The owl dove straight for Draco. It landed spectacularly on the rim of his plate and stuck out its leg nonchalantly. He looked curiously at the strange owl, and opened the letter cautiously.

Hermione watched as Draco went pure white.

This was not good. He looked up and straight at her, silver eyes wide with horror. He quickly stood up and strode out of the Hall, which fell silent at the look on its Head Boy's face. No one had ever, _ever_, seen fear on it before, and as soon as the doors shut behind him, the Hall broke out in excited whispers. 

Hermione stood up, and the Hall silenced once again at the look on her face. Harry hissed, "What are you doing?"

"I need to see what's wrong. I _have_ to go, Harry; this is important." She didn't give him time to answer, but practically ran out of the Great Hall after Draco. Now everyone was very excited. What was going on?

Ron voiced this question to Harry in his state of massive confusion. "What the hell is going on, Harry?"

Harry shook his head as he watched Hermione's quickly retreating back exit the room. "It is such a long story, I don't know where to begin. I don't know. I just don't know, Ron." They sat in stunned silence.

Two other people in the castle were sitting similarly. 

"What? No. This is wrong. It's a trap. They couldn't-wouldn't-oh my god, Draco." Hermione's face was drained of anything besides stark terror.

Draco tried to comfort her, but found it impossible when he couldn't comfort himself. He stood up and reached down to pull her up as well. "Let's go to Dumbledore. Now. He'll know what to do." Hermione stumbled up and nodded, white-lipped.

They walked very quickly to the Headmaster's office. When Draco knocked, there was no answer. He opened the door tentatively, and they entered. Dumbledore wasn't there.

Draco slumped into one of the chairs. Hermione went to the other one. "Draco, we have to do something. I can't just leave them. I can't let them die at the hands of Voldemort. By the time Ministry officials get there, it may be too late!"

Draco thought fast. If he could get there in time, and pretended he had repented…it could work. "I'm going." He stood up.

"So am I." Hermione stood up as well.

"No, it's too dangerous. I can't let you."

"They're _my_ parents, not yours, Draco! I'm coming, and we are going to save them together!"

At that moment, a blinding flash surrounded them. It was all the colors of the rainbow, combining into white, and then slowly fading back into the comforting colors of the circular office.

"What was that?" Hermione whispered. She unconsciously was gripping Draco's arm.

Draco looked around the room, searching for god knew what. His gaze fell on the desk in the center. A small black book was lying open on it, the pages gleaming, as if they had absorbed some of the light and were slowly radiating it back out. Draco looked at Hermione pointedly, and she sheepishly let go of his arm.

Draco slowly walked over to the desk and picked up the leather-covered book. It was the Slytherin journal that had caused them so many headaches. He must have forgotten it the previous evening in Dumbledore's office. He flipped idly through it, but stopped almost immediately. 

"Hermione, come her," he said unnecessarily, as she was already leaning over his arm.

"What does it say? I'm not quite fluent in Latin," she whispered.

"It says: When two lovers from different pasts/ Unite to defeat the Dark lord at last/ The it shall be revealed to them/ The lifesaver: _arum defencedem_."

"What does that mean? Lifesaver? I've never heard of that spell before. Are you sure you read it exactly right?" she looked seriously up at him.

"Of course I read it right! I've been fluent in Latin since I was three! That's exactly what it says." He repeated it again to himself, muttering incoherently.

"What? I can't understand a word you're saying! Well, what do you think it—OH!" Hermione clapped her hand over her mouth in excitement. 

"What, what? What is it?" Draco turned to face her and gripped her shoulders.

Hermione looked up at him excitedly. "What if this is the prediction? It has to be! And Dumbledore said the people involved would know immediately, right? What if it's us? 'Two lovers from different pasts'," she blushed as she said, "Well, we are…and you can't deny our pasts are _very_ different."

Draco was getting into this. "'Unite to defeat the Dark lord at last,' Hermione, we must be going to end Lord Voldemort, not only rescue your parents! 'Then it shall be revealed to them/ The lifesaver, _arum defencedem_.' What does that mean?" 

They stood there, stumped, thinking for awhile.

Hermione finally spoke. "Well, it's revealed to _us_, we know that. But…oh my god, I think I have it. It must be the…"

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Oh, I know I'm evil ::cackles wickedly:: MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! ::cowers:: Don't hurt me! I promise I'll have the next chapter out before the end of the week, because this week I have spring break, nothing much to do! I'm sorry, but I dearly _love_ ending chapters with cliffhangers…which is kinda hypocritical, because I hate when I read a story that has that! So, I'm desperately sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry. I WILL update soon! Please review!

p.s. Sorry it was pretty short, but that's just what happened! The next chappy's longer.


	24. Taking Action

::creeps into view:: Um, hi everyone! Did you miss me? Well, you probably didn't, but I'm hoping you missed the next chapter! Sorry, sorry, sorry! ::cringes:: Have mercy! I've had so much stuff to do and just no time to get this together! But guess what? This is a long chapter, and the second to the last one! Yay! Ok, so, on with the story!

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, do own the plot!

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Chapter 24: 

"It must be the countercurse to _Avada Kedavra!" Her eyes widened in excitement and amazement._

"There's no such thing," Draco scoffed half-heartedly. He secretly wanted to believe it, but there was simply no way it was true.

"Yes, this is it! Slytherin was the founder of the Dark order, right? So it would make sense that he made up _Avada Kedavra. He had to make a countercurse, because that's the natural thing when you discover a curse. But of course he wouldn't tell anyone, because he wanted the curse to produce power, and if people could resist it, it would be pointless." Hermione had started pacing again. It seemed to be becoming a habit, whenever she was agitated or excited._

Draco saw a few flaws in Hermione's reasoning, however. "But the prediction was made by Rowena Ravenclaw. If Slytherin told no one, how did she know? And if she knew, wouldn't she have told someone? She most definitely was not in the Dark order," he smugly stated.

"Yes, but when real Seers make big predictions, they go into a trance, like Trelawny in our third year. She told Harry—" Hermione stopped, realizing she couldn't tell Draco about Sirius. He was still a fugitive, and though she knew Draco wouldn't tell anyone, she couldn't betray Harry's trust. Besides, it would take too much explaining right now. There wasn't time.

"The old fraud told Potter what?" Draco asked curiously.

"Nothing important. The point was she didn't remember making the prediction, and it _did come true, so maybe Ravenclaw didn't either. If only Slytherin heard it, his secret was still safe. She probably Saw something happening with the countercurse and heard it, and from that sprouted her prediction." Hermione's eyes gleamed triumphantly._

"We still don't know for sure. That's a lot of guesswork and putting together pieces that we don't know are there."

"There's only one way to find out." Hermione grimaced.

"Yeah, I'd better go." He strode out the door. Footsteps followed him, before he reached the moving staircase. He turned around. "You aren't coming with me." He left no room for argument, but Hermione argued anyway. "We've been through this already. They're _my parents."_

"For all we know this is a complete hoax they sent just to scare us into revealing what's really going on!" Hermione shook her head and told him about the letter she had received. "You can't come. They'll kill you."

"Oh, and they won't kill you? Besides, the prediction says _two lovers, not __one person. We're in this together, whether you like it or not. Two wands are better than one, anyway." She stared defiantly up at him. He threw up his hands in defeat. _

"Fine. But if you get killed, I'll never forgive you." She smiled weakly and pulled him onto the stairs. 

"Let's go."

After the door closed, Albus reappeared, looking thoughtful. He hoped he had given them enough…

They walked-or rather, crept, since they were both supposed to be in class-down through the Great Hall and over the castle grounds quickly.

"Hold on. I just realized a slight problem. You don't know how to Apparate." Draco looked hopeful. Maybe this would stop her. He really wouldn't be able to forgive himself if she was hurt in anyway. This was all his fault. If he hadn't kissed her that day in Diagon Alley, she would be living happily ever after, perhaps going out with Potter or something, blissfully studying for the N.E.W.T.s. _And you would be a hopeless Death Eater case. She saved you, and this is how you repay her? Getting her parents murdered. Some grateful person you are._ He shook his head. What had she said? He was busy having a conversation with himself. This was crazy. 

"What did you say?" Hermione almost laughed as she watched him internally chiding himself. It was quite funny.

"I said, that's what you think. That I can't Apparate," she added when his face stayed blank. "You've had a bad influence on me, Draco. I've been practicing my Apparating skills, since I couldn't take the test while in school. I may as well be certified." She grinned slyly at him.

Draco laughed. "That's my girl. Alright, let's go to Voldemort." With a slight *pop*, they were gone. 

They instantly appeared in a strange place to Draco, but he heard Hermione gasp next to him. They were in a very obviously Muggle house, which he assumed meant it was Hermione's. The threat must have been true. This made things a tad more complicated.

Hermione's heart sunk as she stared around at her familiar house. The Death Eaters had destroyed many things, so even if they managed to make it out of this alive, with her parents, their house would forever bear scars from the ordeal.

Gripping their wands tighter, Hermione and Draco moved through the house. It was eerily silent, seeming as if to lull them into false security. Draco tensed every time they moved around a corner, expecting ambush. But nothing happened.

_Where are they?_ Draco wondered, thinking hard. _Where _would_ they be? If he was an evil Dark Lord kidnapping someone's parents, where would he take them?_

"We've been waiting for you two." Draco and Hermione spun around at the sound of a slightly squeaky voice trying to sound menacing. 

"_Wormtail_," Hermione hissed. Draco started and looked at her. How did she know…?

"I prefer the name of Peter, but, to each his own." Wormtail shrugged. "I wouldn't advise that," he said sharply, pointing his wand quickly at Draco's chest when he saw the young man lifting his wand. "You see, there are five other _faithful_ Death Eaters behind you." Draco turned calmly around to see that this was, indeed, the case. Hermione was still staring at the short, rat-like man.

"I call you Wormtail because you don't deserve a true name, you bloody son of a bitch. I would rather call you Wormtongue, or Wormheart, because Wormtail disgraces the memory of Harry's parents." Draco was startled at the obvious venom dripping from Hermione's words. He was also surprised at her seemingly extensive knowledge of Potter's family history, but then, perhaps he shouldn't be. The Terrific Trio shared everything.

You think of the oddest things when in mortal peril. 

Draco came out of his thoughts to be suddenly faced with Voldemort himself. He looked the same as usual, if not even more superior and full of disdain. He swept past Wormtail and the other Death Eaters to stand in front of the two teenagers in disgust.

"Draco Malfoy." Voldemort said this like a curse, something to recoil from, a gross thing, like a half-eaten cockroach. Draco's face remained impassive. "Draco, Draco, Draco." This time his tone changed to almost fatherly. "I have given you everything you have ever wanted, and this is how you repay me? You had power, glory, and acceptance, in the palm of you hand, and you gave it up for this? This…" His gaze swept over Hermione, "this Mudblood and the confines of being 'good'? There is no good and evil, only power and those too weak to see it. I believe I said that to your new friend in his first year." It took Draco a second to realize the Dark Lord was talking about Potter.

"Potter's not my friend."

"No? He will be. They will suck you in, into that hero-worship of their pinnacle of good, the Saint Potter." The words stung, because they were ones Draco had often said in his earlier years.

But Draco kept his gaze level, never wavering from the challenging face of Voldemort. "I love Hermione, not Potter," he said in disdain, almost patient exasperation, as if Voldemort were nothing but a slow child not understanding a simple spell. "I also have no thirst for power, not if it involves giving up the good things in life, like love."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes, "Are you sure? I am being _extremely generous, offering you one last chance. Will you accept it?"_

With one word, Draco sealed his choice. "No."

"_Crucio!_" Voldemort had stepped back and instantly cast the Cruciatus Curse on the officially ex-Death Eater.

Draco felt agonizing pain all through his body, but gritted his teeth so as not to scream and therefore give the Dark Lord and his minions satisfaction. He sank silently to the floor, the room swirling dangerously around and around, faster and faster until Draco felt he would be sick.

The pressure stopped suddenly. Draco took a moment to steady himself, then started to get up. Comforting arms wrapped around him, helping, and he looked up into the face of Hermione, smiling tremulously at him. He struggled to his feet.

Voldemort had walked further, to the other side of the room, and was issuing orders to a few Death Eaters. They left the room. 

The Dark Lord turned back to the two teenagers, and laughed coldly. It was high and ringing and malicious, and it sent a cold chill rippling through Hermione's bones. 

However, compared to the sight that was now entering the room, that laugh seemed like a cute and fluffy pink stuffed bunny rabbit.

Hermione's parents were being levitated into the room, looking quite the worse for the war. They had numerous cuts and bruises, and her father's arm was twisted at an odd angle. Her mother's eyes were darting wildly in terror, and as they rested on her daughter, with confusion.

Hermione felt her heart blazing with fury. How _dare Voldemort bring her family into this? They were innocent, good, upstanding dentists; they were no threat. Her fear was replaced with a boiling hate, making her feel reckless._

Draco sensed this, and placed a calming hand on her arm, gentle but restraining if need be. He didn't really have a plan, but rushing head first blindly towards Voldemort didn't sound like the best one.

Voldemort laughed again, sickly enjoying the horror on the Grangers' faces. He hissed at Hermione, "Let's see what your precious boyfriend will do to help your parents. My bet is nothing. Because he can't do anything. They'll die in front of you eyes, and you will do nothing." 

Hermione closed her eyes and took a few deep, shuddering breaths. It wasn't true. He was just taunting her. She knew the spell. What was it again? Aro- no, that wasn't it. Arum…defend? No…fear and despair were clouding her mind, rendering it useless. She'd never been too good in a crisis; Hermione suddenly remembered her "There's no wood!" exclamation way back in their first year when she, Harry, and Ron were trying to get to the Philosopher's Stone. She smiled ruefully, and then opened her eyes. 

Voldemort had positioned her parents to his liking. He stood in front of them, looking like a cat after successfully killing a mouse—smug and superior. "Shall I kill them now, or allow you to watch them suffer?" he mused loudly. Making up his mind seemed not very difficult, and Hermione felt Draco tense next to her.

"_Crucio!_" Hermione's mother jerked with the force of the curse, and screamed in pain. Hermione clenched her fists, but was helpless. The only thing she could do was wait for him to try the Killing Curse. They hadn't learned the countercurse to Cruciatus.

Voldemort lifted his wand and Mrs. Granger collapsed to the floor. He smiled wickedly, and turned to Hermione. "Enough torture for you? Want me to finish it now? You'll be next, filthy Mudblood. Or maybe your faithless boyfriend…" Hermione tried her best to ignore the Dark Lord's provocations. It didn't work. 

"He's got more faith than you," she spat back. "He's better than you. Everyone is. You're just a soulless, heartless bastard craving power." 

Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "I have power. More than anyone else in the world! Allow me to demonstrate." His wand raised once more, and his high voice called on the Dark powers as he yelled the two most literally deadly words in the word. "_Avada Kedavra_!" 

Hermione tried to shoot forward and protect her parents, but her feet refused to move into the green light that was flashing through the room. She sensed, rather than saw, Draco darting forward almost inhumanly fast, but thought desperately, _He's too late, we weren't ready, he's too late!_

Hermione heard screaming and yelling, and realized the screaming was coming from her. Black spots swam in front of her eyes as she struggled to find Draco's form in the extended green flashes blinding her, but she felt her knees weaken, and the blackness engulfed her. _Draco, Draco… And she saw nothing more._

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*grins and cackles evilly* Sorry that was a cliffhanger, but it's just the way it was written! Don't blame me! Oh wait…I wrote it! Hehe, sorry. But look on the bright side, the next chapter's the last one! And it's very long, so it might take awhile to get up, sorry 'bout that ahead of time. Feel free to criticize, but flames will be used to light my candles! Also, REVIEW!


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